Was there a source of oxygen on mars???

Question

With all this talk of water once being on Mars, I've recently being wondering where the free radical oxygen(s) to form it came from in the first place,
Maybe I'm wrong but I always though oxygen was so reactive the only way for it to exist in any real quantity was to be continually produced, e.g photosynthesis.
So if water existed on Mars there must have been a substantial amount of oxygen in free radical form, where could it have originated from?

Please correct me if my logic is flawed.

P.s if there was free oxygen on Mars (hypothetically), would it naturally form H2O from hydrogen in the universe, or what would the source of hydrogen be?

Answer 1

I'm not an astrochemist so I don't know the details, but water forms readily due to the chemistry and physics of outer space = photosynthesis is not required.

Hydrogen was formed in the big bang, and oxygen was/is formed in stars through atomic fusion. Both atoms can be ionized by stellar radiation, and I expect that they can combine in the interstellar medium to form water molecules.

The source for water on Mars, therefore, is the same as the source on the early Earth - it was present in the molecular cloud in which the planets condensed, and water was incorporated into the developing globes. As mentioned in one of the other answers, water was delivered to the planetary surfaces by volcanism. Additional water was delivered by comets, which rained down on the newly formed planets in the early solar system.

Molecular oxygen is too reactive to remain around for long = that is what needs constant replenishment, and that is why its detection at high concentration in the atmosphere of another planet would be viewed as provocative evidence for extraterrestrial life. Low amounts of molecular oxygen can be made by natural processes, and Venus, Mars, and Europa all have some molecular oxygen in their atmospheres.

BTW: Icy objects continue to enter the Earth's atmosphere daily, each adding a little more water to our ecosystem.

Answer 2

Every gas that are present in the planets are left over from the cloud that formed the solar system. These gases came from earlier generation stars that had gone supernova. The actual amount of oxygen doesn't change that much in a system like Earth or Mars. It just goes from one form to another. Photosynthesis does not create new oxygen. It simply releases the oxygen in carbondioxide (CO2) as a by product. Mars, for whatever reason, lost its atmosphere so any oxygen in gas form is gone. The only thing left is the oxygen trapped in outer fors.

As to the formation of water, it is an exothermic process, meaning that the combination of 2 hydrogen and 1 oxygen actually is at a lower energy state than if the three compnents are free by themselves. So yes, the process happens automatically.

Answer 3

Water is quite a common molecule as hydrogen and oxygen are quite common. So the question is not where the water came from. It was always there since the birth of the solarsystem. Question is where did it go because Mars obviousy had huge quantities of water once. The answer to that is ultraviolet radiation that can turn water back into oxygen and hydrogen. The hydrogen escaped into space while the oxygen remained (smae thin happened on Venus). It has since reacted with other substances to form other oxides and even peroxides that seem to exist in some quantities in the martian soil.

Answer 4

I believe water or other compounds are the primeval source of oxygen during the formations of planets. The planets form with a certain amount of water directly from the solar nebula in the early solar system and then oxygen comes from breaking down molecules; the water does not come from free oxygen combining with hydrogen. In other words, you are thinking backwards.

The early Earth had plenty of water but an all carbon dioxide atmosphere until cyanobacteria evolved to create oxygen by photosynthesis.

Answer 5

There is plenty of oxygen in the universe. Photosynthesis does not make any. It just sets it free from water. All the oxygen on Mars is now in form of rather caustic minerals. Oxygen is not healthy for life, in any form, but the way you can find it on Mars, it is absolutely deadly.

Your logic isn't particularly flawed, you just have to go through all of the detailed numbers to get the right impression. Science is about numbers and one can not argue these things qualitatively.

Answer 6

Like Earth, Mars was once geologically active. Most of our atmosphere came from volcanic outgassing and from that came rain. It's also believed that some of Earth's water came from cometary material. Certainly it's reasonable to assume that near identical conditions long ago on Mars would have given rise to surface water.

Answer 7

actually oxygen is present through out the universe and there is small amount on mars as well,

MARS

http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/targetFamily/Mars

PODCAST, DISCOVERY OF WATER ON MARS IN THE LAST FIVE TO SEVEN YEARS,

http://www.nasa.gov/163951main_jpl-mgs-20061206.MP3

SHARP VIEWS SHOW GROUND ICE ON MARS IS PATCHY AND VARIABLE,

http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0705/02marsice/

Answer 8

Yeah, you examine your source incorrect. you are going to be able to burst. even if if, i could fret with regard to the radiation. that is genuine Mars has no ozone even though it additionally has an extremely vulnerable magnetic container.