Science. 1979 Feb 23;203(4382):800-2. doi: 10.1126/science.203.4382.800.
Initial examination of data from the neutral mass spectrometer on the Pioneer Venus sounder probe indicates that the abundances of argon-36, argon-38, and neon-20 in the Venus atmosphere are much higher than those of the corresponding gases in Earth's atmosphere, although the abundance of radiogenic argon-40 is apparently similar for both planets. The lower atmosphere of Venus includes significant concentrations of various gaseous sulfur compounds. The inlet leak to the mass spectrometer was temporarily blocked by an apparently liquid component of the Venus clouds during passage through the dense cloud layer. Analysis of gases released during the evaporation of the droplets shows the presence of water vapor to some compound or compounds of sulfur.
先驱者金星探测器中中性质谱仪的数据初步分析表明，金星大气中氩-36、氩-38 和氖-20 的丰度远远高于地球大气中相应气体的丰度，尽管两个行星的放射性氩-40 的丰度显然相似。金星的低层大气含有各种气态硫化合物的显著浓度。在穿过浓密云层时，质谱仪的入口因金星云层中一种显然是液体的成分而暂时堵塞。对液滴蒸发过程中释放出的气体进行分析表明，水蒸气与某种或某些硫化合物同时存在。
