Detection of Perchlorate and the Soluble Chemistry of Martian Soil at the Phoenix Lander Site

TLDR: Results suggest that the soil at the Phoenix landing site must have suffered alteration through the action of liquid water in geologically the recent past, and revealed an alkaline environment in contrast to that found by the Mars Exploration Rovers, indicating that many different environments have existed on Mars.

Abstract: The Wet Chemistry Laboratory on the Phoenix Mars Lander performed aqueous chemical analyses of martian soil from the polygon-patterned northern plains of the Vastitas Borealis. The solutions contained ~10 mM of dissolved salts with 0.4 to 0.6% perchlorate (ClO 4 ) by mass leached from each sample. The remaining anions included small concentrations of chloride, bicarbonate, and possibly sulfate. Cations were dominated by Mg 2+ and Na + , with small contributions from K + and Ca 2+ . A moderately alkaline pH of 7.7 ± 0.5 was measured, consistent with a carbonate-buffered solution. Samples analyzed from the surface and the excavated boundary of the ~5-centimeter-deep ice table showed no significant difference in soluble chemistry.