On a high-dispersion spectrogram of Mars taken at Mount Wilson rotational lines of H20 near A. 8300 and C02 near A. 8700 have been detected. Recent laboratory measurements of line strengths by D. Rank have been used to determine the amounts of H20 and C02in the atmosphere of Mars: 14 ± 7 µ.precipitable water and 55 ± 20 m atm C02 .. From the absence of 02 in the Martian spectra, we set an upper limit of 70 cm atm for the 02 content.By suitably combining the C02 amount with observations by Kuiper and Sinton of the strongly saturated bands in the 2-µ. region, a surface pressure of 25 ± 15 mb has been derived.The implications of the results on the composition of the Martian atmosphere are discussed.
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