Optically stimulated luminescence dating properties of Martian sediment analogue materials exposed to a simulated Martian solar spectral environment

Deciphering the geomorphic, climatic, and hydrologic history of Mars will require an extensive geochronology on numerous time scales from both returned samples and in-situ measurements. Optically stimulated luminescence dating (OSL), or optical dating, is an established terrestrial geochronological method that is being developed as a member of a suite of dating tools for Mars. As part of this development process, we have built an optical system simulating the calculated Martian solar spectral irradiance taking into account seasonal variations due to attenuation of dust and the planet's orbital position and used it to catalogue the UV dosimetric response and optical dating behavior of a group of sediment analogues exposed to a simulated Martian spectral environment (SMSE) for the surface of the planet. Our results suggest that optical dating should not be compromised by the interaction of the enhanced UV radiation in the Martian spectrum with K-feldspar, Ca-feldspar, anhydrite, or hydrous Ca and Mg sulfates on Mars. However, Na-feldspar appears to be capable of acquiring and retaining an OSL signal under SMSE conditions, which could present a challenge for optical dating on Mars in sedimentary deposits containing more than a trace quantity of sodic feldspars.     

The impact of Martian aerosols on the retrieval of temperature profiles from PFS measurements

Our purpose was a qualitative assessment of the impact of dust and water ice aerosols on the retrieved temperature profiles and the retrieval process itself in the Martian atmosphere. It aims to quantify the related uncertainties in the atmospheric temperature profiles derived from radiance measurements of the Planetary Fourier Spectrometer (PFS), currently operating on the Mars Express orbiter. In this study the effects of aerosol opacities on simulated data and retrieved temperature profiles were also investigated.From the analysis of the model atmosphere including dust and water ice with different size distributions it results that the dust component affects weighting functions and brightness temperatures less than water ice. A similar situation is also observed when different vertical distributions are considered. Unlike dust, water ice with different sizes of crystals evidently influences weighting functions and brightness temperatures. The impact of the considered water ice vertical distributions on brightness temperatures is noticeable only near 840 cm⁻¹.Considering different dust opacities, the largest differences—5 K maximum—between retrieved temperature profiles were observed close to the surface, regardless assumptions on a size distribution or the refractive indices. Contrary to dust, the different sizes of water ice particles assumed during retrieval stronger affected the retrieved temperature profiles than water ice opacities. Moreover, the differences in the retrieved temperature profiles were amplified while wrong optical properties for dust as well as for water ice aerosol were assumed instead of the nominal case. This means that the wrong assumption can induce an additional source of the retrieval error and lead to unreasonable temperature profiles. In the cases of expected heavily loads water ice crystals, their size distribution in the Martian atmosphere should be known from other observations before the retrieval of the temperature profile is attempted.For the analyzed examples of real PFS measurements the impact of different dust vertical distributions on the retrieval of temperature profile is prominent only in layers close to the surface. However, these differences remain comparable with retrieval errors. All influences of dust on weighting functions, brightness temperatures and during retrieval can be neglected if the noise equivalent radiance (NER) of PFS is taken into account.     

Mössbauer and VNIR study of dust generated from olivine basalt: application to Mars

Mössbauer spectroscopy of surface rocks, soil, and dust on Mars from the Mars Exploration Rovers (MER) suggests that the mineral olivine is widespread on the surface. Detection of the mineral by near-IR optical spectroscopy from Martian orbit indicates that it is found in relatively small isolated outcrops concentrated in the floors and rims of craters distributed around the ancient cratered highlands of Mars. To shed light on this apparent paradox, we have performed a detailed Mössbauer and visible-near-IR (VNIR) investigation of dust generated from Icelandic olivine basalt, which is a good Mössbauer analogue to the igneous rocks at Gusev crater on Mars. The results show that the amount of olivine relative to pyroxene can be underestimated by almost an order of a magnitude in VNIR reflectance spectra, most probably because of the longer effective optical path length in pyroxene compared to olivine.     

A single-scattering approximation for infrared radiative transfer in limb geometry in the Martian atmosphere

We present a single-scattering approximation for infrared radiative transfer in limb geometry in the Martian atmosphere. It is based on the assumption that the upwelling internal radiation field is dominated by a surface with a uniform brightness temperature. It allows the calculation of the scattering source function for individual aerosol types, mixtures of aerosol types, and mixtures of gas and aerosol. The approximation can be applied in a Curtis-Godson radiative transfer code and is used for operational retrievals from Mars Climate Sounder measurements. Radiance comparisons with a multiple scattering model show good agreement in the mid- and far-infrared although the approximate model tends to underestimate the radiances in realistic conditions of the Martian atmosphere. Relative radiance differences are found to be about 2% in the lowermost atmosphere, increasing to ∼10% in the middle atmosphere of Mars. The increasing differences with altitude are mostly due to the increasing contribution to limb radiance of scattering relative to emission at the colder, higher atmospheric levels. This effect becomes smaller toward longer wavelengths at typical Martian temperatures. The relative radiance differences are expected to produce systematic errors of similar magnitude in retrieved opacity profiles.     

火星重力场研究现状及发展趋势

针对近年来月球与火星探测成为各航天大国的热点,以及中国首个火星探测计划"萤火1号"拟定的科学研究目标,文章对火星重力场模犁的历史、现状及展望做了简要描述.文中首先探讨了火星探测的多重意义和火星重力场在火星探测中起到的重要作用;接着介绍了火星重力场模型发展的历史和现状;最后介绍了利用中国"萤火1号"轨道跟踪数据对火星重力场模型的可能贡献,在此基础上对中国未来火星重力场探测提出了设想.     

On a possible dust-plasma interaction at Mars

According to present theoretical models, material ejected from the Martian satellite Phobos due to meteoroid bombardment and tidal coupling can stay for a long time in circular orbits near the planet, forming a dust belt. The dust particles are moving through various plasma domains of the Martian magnetosphere and may undergo electrostatic disruption there, producing very fine motes in the range 0.005-0.1 μm which can stay positively charged for a time comparable with the orbital period. A negatively charged spacecraft will attract such particles and an ion spectrometer with wide enough mass range (1-10⁸ amu/Q, where Q is the particle charge) may detect these grains. The model can explain observations made by the ASPERA mass spectrometer during the PHOBOS mission when signals in the mass channels 10³-10⁷ amu were detected inside the Martian magnetosphere. The evolution of a grain orbiting Mars is shown in a diagram of the particle size-particle potential. Such a diagram gives a qualitative picture of the grain interaction with the Martian plasma environment     

A survey of the signal stability and radiation dose response of sulfates in the context of adapting optical dating for Mars

The Martian landscape is currently dominated by eolian processes, and eolian dunes are a direct geomorphic expression of the dynamic interaction between the atmosphere and the lithosphere of planets. The timing, frequency, and spatial extent of dune mobility directly reflects changing climatic conditions, therefore, sedimentary depositional ages are important for understanding the paleoclimatic and geomorphologic history of features and processes present on the surface of the Earth or Mars. Optical dating is an established terrestrial dosimetric dating technique that is being developed for this task on Mars. Gypsum and anhydrite are two of the most stable and abundant sulfate species found on the Earth, and they have been discovered in Martian sediments along with various magnesium sulfates and jarosite. In this study, the optical dating properties of various Ca-, Mg-, and Fe-bearing sulfates were documented to help evaluate the influence they may have on in-situ optical dating in eolian environments on Mars. Single-aliquot regenerative-dose (SAR) experimental procedures have been adapted to characterize the radiation dose response and signal stability of the Martian sulfate analogs. Jarosite was dosimetrically inert in our experiments. The radiation dose response of the Ca- and Mg-sulfates was monotonically increasing in all cases with characteristic doses ranging from ∼100 to ∼1000 Gy. Short-term signal fading also varied considerably in the Ca- and Mg-sulfates ranging from ∼0% to ∼40% per decade for these materials. These results suggest that the OSL properties of Ca- and Mg-sulfates will need to be considered when developing protocols for in-situ optical dating on Mars, but more enticingly, our results foreshadow the potential for gypsum to be developed as a geochronometer for Mars or the Earth.     

Backscattering Mössbauer spectroscopy of Martian dust

We report on the determination of the mineralogy of the atmospherically suspended Martian dust particles using backscattering ⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy on dust accumulated onto the magnets onboard the Mars Exploration Rovers. The spectra can be interpreted in terms of minerals of igneous origin, and shows only limited, if any, amounts of secondary minerals that may have formed in the presence of liquid water. These findings suggest that the dust has formed in a dry environment over long time in the history of the planet.     

基于远程LIBS-Raman光谱的火星矿物成分分析方法研究

实现了一套实验室环境下的LIBS-Raman测试系统的设计,并验证激光诱导击穿光谱技术（LIBS）和拉曼（Raman）光谱技术在火星模拟环境下矿物样品的综合检测能力。该系统使用卡塞格林望远镜结构进行远程的LIBS激发,使用旁路反射光路进行远程脉冲Raman光谱的激发,其激发光源的波长分别为1 064和532 nm。之后统一使用卡塞格林望远镜进行二者光谱信号的收集。为了充分模拟火星表面矿物所处的物理条件,设计与实现了一套气体腔体,通过将样品放置在气体舱中,可以实现对火星表面条件进行最大程度的模拟。为了验证使用该LIBS-Raman系统进行火星矿物分析的能力,利用8种典型矿物(孔雀石、蓝铜矿、雄黄、雌黄、文石、方解石、硬石膏和石膏等)样品展开实验分析。在这些样品中存在巨大的元素和分子成分上的差异,其中孔雀石、蓝铜矿分子具有不同的价态和原子比例;雄黄、雌黄分子的各原子的个数均不相同;文石、方解石虽具有相同的分子式,但是晶体结构明显不同;硬石膏和石膏矿物的差异则体现在其分子有无含有结晶水上。利用LIBS和Raman技术对这些差异性进行研究,以此来验证在火星条件下使用此组合仪器分析矿物种类和成分的有效性,并研究激光诱导击穿光谱技术和拉曼光谱技术在物质成分分析中的优缺点。实验结果表明,该系统可以在火星条件下有效分析矿物种类和成分。该对比实验还验证了在分析火星物质中的特定矿物元素组成这一问题上,LIBS技术可快速区分元素种类,但针对分子信息探测存在明显局限性;Raman光谱技术则可以在一定程度上对这种局限性进行补偿。二者结合将有效提高极端条件下具有不同分子组成和结构的矿物的识别效能。该系统的成功验证可为进一步火星探测计划提供有力补充,并对实验室建立有价值数据库提供帮助。     

火星车载激光诱导击穿光谱仪(MarsCoDe)在轨定标样品选取研究

我国首次火星全球遥感与区域巡视探测任务已获批立项,首个火星探测器也即将前往火星。为满足火星物质成分分析的需求,我国研制了不同类型的火星物质成分分析仪器,其中包括火星表面成分探测仪（MarsCoDe）,应用了激光诱导击穿光谱技术（laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy,LIBS）。火星表面覆盖尘埃,探测仪器想要准确获取火星尘埃之下的物质成分,必须剥去尘埃或者进行破坏从而深入岩层取样。LIBS可以用激光烧蚀待测物体表面,获得深部物质光谱信息,在火星表面探测中具有其他仪器无法取代的优势。LIBS在火星探测中几乎适用于探测每一个元素,包括轻元素H,Li,Be,B,C,N,O等,帮助寻找有机物和含水地质过程的证据。由于LIBS在火星环境工作,等离子体的物理性质与地球上完全不同。为了确保火星车载LIBS返回数据的光谱质量,需要对LIBS在着陆后开展在轨定标。借助火星车的携带在轨定标样品,对探测数据进行在轨定标,确保返回数据的可靠性。定标样品的选择是一项十分重要的工作,存在仪器工程条件限制、定标样品类型的代表性、元素成分分布范围、样品稳定性等多种考虑因素,需满足科学任务的同时达到加工工艺要求。总结了国外已有的火星车载LIBS在轨定标的研究进展,重点分析了LIBS在轨定标样品选择依据、国外选择样品的优缺点,并总结经验提出了几点建议,为我国在轨定标工作提供参考。对火星探测数据的正确解译,对未来研究火星的起源、火星的长期地质演变过程等具有重要的科学意义。     

星-地无线电掩星技术探测火星大气和电离层

历史上几乎所有的行星探测任务都开展了无线电掩星实验,以探测行星的大气、电离层、行星环以及磁场,并取得了很多重要的科学成果.掩星发生时刻前后,测量航天器发出的信号穿过行星电离层和大气层时被遮掩而引起的信号频率、相位、幅度或极化等物理特性的变化,通过某种反演技术,可以得到大气的折射率廓线,推出中性大气的密度、温度、压强廓线以及电离层的电子浓度廓线.文章嗣绕中国"萤火1号"火星探测器(YH-1)火星探测计划中将要开展的星-地无线电掩星实验,介绍了该技术用于探测火星大气和电离层的相关情况.     

In‐situ analysis of planetary surfaces by Mössbauer spectroscopy

Iron is one of the key elements in the evolution of the solar system and is highly abundant in terrestrial planets. Its oxidation state reflects the history of the oxidation–reduction reactions on planetary surfaces. The identification of iron mineralogies and the relative abundance of iron oxidation states (2+ and 3+) will contribute to a much deeper understanding of the evolution of planetary bodies and their surfaces. Miniaturized Mössbauer spectrometers are under development primarily for missions to the planet Mars and the Moon, but there is also an interest on using such an instrument for space missions to the planet Venus, comets and asteroids. The instrument MIMOS II developed at TU Darmstadt meets the requirements for space application as low mass (about 500 g), small volume, and low power consumption (about 1 W). The instrument has been tested extensively in the laboratory but also recently in the field mounted on the robotic arm of a prototype Martian Rover under development at JPL/NASA, United States.     

Medium velocity impact triboelectrification experiments with JSC Mars-1 regolith simulant

As land-based robotic missions to Mars have increased in scope and mobility, NASA has intensified its research efforts involving the mechanisms of electrostatic charging on the surface of Mars. The primary concern is that electrostatic adhesion and discharge might interfere with the operation of sensitive components, or interfere with communications and control systems. A secondary effect might be the electrostatic build-up of dust on solar panels, reducing mission effectiveness. One goal of this research is to assist in the development of electrostatic mitigation, including the selection of materials that resist excessive charging when placed in frictional contact with the Martian regolith.¹ However, most information related to frictional charging, or triboelectrification, is of an empirical nature. Based on experimentation, some materials have historically been arranged into triboelectric series in which the magnitude and sign of charge acquired through frictional contact can be predicted with reasonable accuracy. However, Martian regolith is not a homogeneous substance, so the approach of the traditional triboelectic series cannot be easily applied. Furthermore, an adequate theory that fully explains triboelectrification does not yet exist. For these reasons, it is necessary to empirically determine the materials and environmental conditions in which frictional charging on Mars becomes significant.Therefore, an experimental procedure has been developed for determining some triboelectric charging characteristics of JSC MARS-1 regolith simulant, based on a shaker box concept suggested by Dr. Carlos Calle of the Materials Research Laboratory at Kennedy Space Center. Over 300 trials under specific test conditions have been performed using this test procedure, with materials common to NASA project equipment used in space exploration. Test results indicate that moderately successful control over test conditions has been achieved, but the acquired electrostatic charge of the regolith simulant did not follow expected trends for all test materials. An analysis of time dependence trials conducted during this study indicates that at least two distinct, identifiable charging mechanisms affected magnitude and sign of the cumulative charge. The first is triboelectrification between the simulant and the test material. The second is inter-particle charging of the regolith simulant, with subsequent transfer between the test material and simulant. With some test materials these differing mechanisms yielded opposing charge polarities, in that the resulting magnitude of the acquired charge appears to be the difference, not the sum of the charging processes.     

"火星快车"下视雷达对火星电离层探测简介

火星是近年来深空探测的热点,对火星电离层的观测和研究是火星探测的主要内容之一.欧洲航天局2003年发射了火星探测器"火星快车",它所搭载的下视雷达MARSIS(火星地表和电离层探测雷达)为火星电离层探测提供了大量数据,文章简单介绍了利用MARSIS探测火星电离层的基本原理,探测数据的结构和利用这些探测数据进行电离层研究的现状.     

Theoretical Study on Ion Escape in Martian Atmosphere

Based on the observation that Martian magnetic moment is gradually reducing from the ancient to the present, we investigate the O^＋ ion flux distribution along magnetic field lines and the ion escaping flux in Martian tail with different assumed Martian magnetic moments. The results show that the O^＋ ion flux along magnetic field lines decreases with distance from Mars; the ion flux along the field line decreases more quickly if the magnetic moment is larger; the larger the magnetic moment, the smaller the ion escaping flux in the Martian tail. The ion escaping flux depends on Z-coordinate in the Martian tail. With decrease of the magnetic moment, the ion escaping flux in the Martian tail increases. The results are significant for studying the water loss from Mars S uFface.     

Modeling of the Martian environment for radiation analysis

A model for the radiation environment to be found on the planet Mars due to Galactic Cosmic Rays (GCR) has been developed. Solar modulated primary particles rescaled for conditions at Mars are transported through the Martian atmosphere down to the surface, with altitude and backscattering patterns taken into account. The altitude to compute the atmospheric thickness profile has been determined by using a model for the topography based on the data provided by the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) instrument on board the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) spacecraft. The Mars surface composition has been modeled based on averages over the measurements obtained from orbiting spacecraft and at various landing sites, taking into account the possible volatile inventory (e.g. CO₂ and H₂O ices) along with its time variations throughout the Martian year. The Mars Radiation Environment Model has been made available worldwide through the Space Ionizing Radiation Effects and Shielding Tools (SIREST) website, a project of NASA Langley Research Center. This site has been developed to provide the scientific and engineering communities with an interactive site containing a variety of environmental models, shield evaluation codes, and radiation response models to allow a thorough assessment of ionizing radiation risk for current and future space missions.     

Biomolecular self-assembly under extreme Martian mimetic conditions

The recent discovery of subsurface water on Mars has challenged our understanding of the natural limits of life. The presence of magnesium perchlorate (Mg(ClO₄)₂) on the Martian surface raises the possibility that it may also be present in this subsurface lake. Given that the subsurface lakes on Earth, such as Lake Vostok and Lake Whillans, are capable of harbouring surprising amounts of life, these new findings raise interesting possibilities for how biomolecules might self-assemble in this environment on Mars. Here we investigate the self-association and hydration of the amino acid glycine in aqueous Mg(ClO₄)₂ at 25°C and ?20°C using neutron diffraction with hydrogen isotope substitution and subsequent analysis with empirical potential structure refinement to yield a simulated box of atoms consistent with the scattering data. We find that although the highly chaotropic properties of Mg(ClO₄)₂ disrupt the hydration and hydrogen bonding ability of the amino acid, as well as the bulk water structure, glycine molecules are nonetheless still able to self-associate. This occurs more readily at lower temperature, where clusters of up to three molecules are observed, allowing us to speculate that the formation of biological molecules is possible in the Martian environment.     

Electrodynamic Dust Shields on the International Space Station: Exposure to the space environment

Electrodynamic Dust Shields (EDS) have been in development at NASA as a dust mitigation method for lunar and Martian missions. An active dust mitigation strategy, such as that provided by the EDS, that can remove dust from surfaces, is of crucial importance to the planetary exploration program. We report on the development of a flight experiment to fully expose four EDS panels to the space environment. This flight experiment is part of the Materials International Space Station experiment X (MISSE-X), an external platform on the International Space Station that will expose materials to the space environment.     

Dust eruptions by photophoresis and solid state greenhouse effects

We carried out experiments that show a gas pressure dependent ability of light to eject particles from a dust bed. Dust eruptions also occur upon removal of the light source. This can be attributed to a solid state greenhouse effect and photophoretic forces. This ejection mechanism works at light intensities larger than 6 kW/m2 but in extreme cases might work as low as 1 kW/m2. It can be applied to sunlit dust on Mars where it aids or triggers dust lift-off from the surface into the atmosphere. It is of importance for dusty bodies at the inner edge of protoplanetary disks where it leads to light induced erosion. The effect also offers a base for technical applications of dust removal in low pressure environments.     

Influence of cosmic rays on biomarkers on the mars

Detection of the organic substance on the Mars is one of the main targets of the current and future Martian landing missions. In this study, we calculated the ionization of the Martian soil by solar and Galactic cosmic rays at its various depths. It is shown that complex organic molecules (biomarkers) with a mass more than 300 a.m.u. at a depth of ≤10 cm degrade for a time less than one milliard years.