GC-MS on the Viking 1976 Mars missions did not detect organic molecules on …

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• Acknowledgements
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Fig. 1.   Oxidative degradation of the generic alkane (represented here by pentane) to acetic acid (A), toluene to benzoic acid (B), and kerogen to benzenehexacarboxylic acid (mellitic acid) (C).

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Fig. 2.   Oxidative degradation of naphthalene to phthalic acid. Solid arrows indicate reactions documented in the literature with citations. Dotted arrows indicate transformations presumed to occur but without documentation in the cited literature (from refs. 23 and 26).

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Source: Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA Vol. 97, Issue 6, 2425-2430, March 14, 2000