La recherche de molécules organiques à la surface de Mars est l’un des enjeux majeurs pour caractériser son habitabilité passée et/ou présente. C’est l’un des objectifs de la mission spatiale Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) et en particulier de l’instrument Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) à bord du robot Curiosity. Cette thèse s’inscrit dans l’aide au traitement et l’interprétation des données de SAM, en vue de détecter et d’effectuer l’inventaire des molécules organiques à la surface de Mars. Ces travaux portent en premier lieu sur les performances analytiques du chromatographe en phase gazeuse (CPG) de SAM et sur l’identification des molécules organiques dans les échantillons solides martiens analysés. A cette fin, j’ai étudié les performances de la chaine d’injection et de séparation du CPG de SAM dans les conditions opératoires de vol reproduites en laboratoire. J’ai également créé une base de données des temps de rétention de molécules présentes, et potentiellement présentes sur Mars, qui sert de référence pour le traitement des données de vol. Ces données ont permis d’identifier des molécules organiques dans les échantillons solides martiens et d’expliquer pourquoi certaines d’entre elles, supposées présentes, ne sont pas détectées. La deuxième partie de l’étude est focalisée sur l’impact des minéraux oxychlorés sur les molécules organiques, lors de la pyrolyse. Pour ce faire, j’ai développé une approche systématique d’étude de la pyrolyse de molécules organiques en présence de minéraux oxydants, ayant tous deux une forte probabilité de se trouver à la surface de Mars. J’ai ainsi pu étudier l’évolution et/ou destruction des molécules organiques, déterminer celles pouvant être à l’origine des composés chlorés détectés sur Mars, évaluer l’impact de la concentration en minéraux oxychlorés et celui du paramètre de température de pyrolyse. Les résultats indiquent que le nombre, la nature, et les abondances relatives des composés formés au cours de la pyrolyse, dépendent de la nature des phases minérales et organiques, de la concentration en minéraux oxychlorés et de la température de pyrolyse. / The search for organic molecules at the Mars’ surface is of primary interest to understand its past and/or present habitability. It is one among the main goals of the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) space mission and especially of the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) experiment onboard the Curiosity rover. This thesis deals with the support to the SAM data treatment and interpretation, which aims to detect and inventory the organic molecules at the Mars’ surface. The first part of this work focuses on the analytical capabilities of the SAM gas chromatograph (GC) and the identification of the organics in the solid samples analysed on Mars with the flight model. To do so, I studied the analytical chain from injection to separation of the SAM GC in the flight operating conditions reproduced in the laboratory. I also created a library of retention times for molecules present or potentially present on Mars, and used as a reference library to treat the flight data. These data allowed to identify the organics in the martian solid samples, and to explain why a few molecules, expected to be present, are not detected. The second part of the thesis focuses on the impact of oxychlorine phases on the organics, during the pyrolysis process. With this aim, I developed a systematic approach to study the pyrolysis of organic molecules on the presence of oxidant minerals that have a high probability of presence at the Mars surface.The evolution and/or destruction of the organics was evaluated. We also looked for the organic and inorganic compounds that can be the precursors of the chlorohydrocarbons detected on Mars with SAM. Finally, we evaluated the influence of the oxychlorines concentration and of the pyrolysis temperature parameter. The results show that the number, the nature and the relative abundances of the compounds formed during the pyrolysis, depend on the nature of the organic and inorganic phases, of the concentration of the oxychlorines phases and of the pyrolysis temperature.

Hot wire anemometers have been used in several wind velocity sensors deployed in Mars. They are based in keeping the temperature of a surface at a constant value, above the ambient. This is done by means of a heater controlled with an electronic system. The cooling rate of each point at the sensor surface can be used to calculate the wind velocity and direction. However, due to turbulent fluctuations, the cooling rate is not constant even in the case of constant velocity. Moreover, RANS simulations cannot estimate such fluctuations as they only provide an estimation of the averaged flow field. The goal of this work has been to estimate such fluctuations and the e↵ect they might have on the sensor readings. To do so, the turbulent cooling rate (Nusselt number) of a sensor with a generic shape, under the typical conditions to be find in Mars, has been simulated using high performance LES (Large Eddy Simulation) simulations and compared with RANS and URANS simulations.

Martian clouds and dust play an important part of the radiative transfer and energy balance budget. To assist in fully understanding the impact of clouds and dust, the complete diurnal cycle needs to be characterized. One of the best methods to track diurnal variations on Mars is by measuring optical depth. The spatial and temporal trends of optical depth give insight into the dust and water cycles of the Martian atmosphere. Until now, spacecraft could only obtain optical depth during the day. In this thesis, nighttime images from the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit are used to calculate nighttime optical depth using photometric methods to capture star flux. Bright stars in well-known constellations are used in this analysis. The observed flux was compared to the expected flux to give nighttime optical depth values. The observed nighttime optical depth was consistently similar to the daytime optical depth values on both an individual image and sol-averaged basis. Recommendations are made going forward to use the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity for conducting an optimal nighttime optical depth campaign to fully characterize the diurnal dust and water cycles of Mars. The Curiosity rover is well suited for nighttime imaging and can potentially provide valuable insight into the nighttime dust and cloud trends.