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We present reflectance and polarization phase curve measurements of highly reflective planetary regolith analogues having physical characteristics expected on atmosphereless solar system bodies (ASSBs) such as a eucritic asteroids or icy satellites. We used a goniometric photopolarimeter (GPP) of novel design to study thirteen well-sorted particle size fractions of aluminum oxide (Al2O3). The sample...
Radar sounder studies of icy, sedimentary, and volcanic settings can be affected by reflections from surface topography surrounding the sensor nadir location. These off-nadir “clutter” returns appear at similar time delays to subsurface echoes and complicate geologic interpretation. Additionally, broadening of the radar echo in delay by surface returns sets a limit on the detectability of subsurface...
A Europa plume source, if present, may produce a global exosphere with complex spatial structure and temporal variability in its density and composition. To investigate this interaction we have integrated a water plume source containing multiple organic and nitrile species into a Europan Monte Carlo exosphere model, considering the effect of Europa's gravity in returning plume ejecta to the surface,...
Determining the eruption temperature of Io's dominant silicate lavas would constrain Io's present interior state and composition. We have examined how eruption temperature can be estimated at lava tube skylights through synthesis of thermal emission from the incandescent lava flowing within the lava tube. Lava tube skylights should be present along Io's long-lived lava flow fields, and are attractive...
A computational investigation of the physics of water vapor plumes on Europa was performed with a focus on characteristics relevant to observation and spacecraft mission operations. The direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method was used to model the plume expansion assuming a supersonic vent source. The structure of the plume was determined, including the number density, temperature, and velocity...
Chaos terrains are among the most prominent landforms of Europa, and are generally among the youngest features recorded on the surface. Chaos units were formed by to endogenic activity, maybe related to solid-state convection and thermal diapirism in the ice shell, perhaps aided by melting of salt-rich ice bodies below the surface. In this work, we analyze the different units of chaotic terrain in...
While Jupiter's moon Io is the most volcanically active body in the Solar System, the largest mountains seen on Io are created by tectonic forces rather than volcanic construction. Pervasive compression, primarily brought about by subsidence induced by sustained volcanic resurfacing, creates the mountains, but at the same time inhibits magma ascent in vertical conduits (dikes). We superpose stress...
The co-rotating plasma around Jupiter precipitates on the surfaces of the jovian moons, where it is not hindered by a local magnetic field. Precipitating ions lead to the emission of energetic neutral atoms, which are produced via backscattering and sputtering processes, from the surface. The European Space Agency’s JUICE mission to Jupiter carries as part of the Particle Environment Package experiment...
A better knowledge of jovian satellites’ origins will bring light on the environment that surrounded Jupiter during its formation and can help us to understand the characteristics of this unique satellite system. We developed a semi-analytical model to investigate Jupiter’s regular satellite formation and present the results of our population synthesis calculations. We performed simulations adopting...
We model the interaction of the jovian magnetospheric plasma with the atmosphere of Europa using a multi-species chemistry model where the atmospheric distributions of H2 and O2 are prescribed. The plasma flow is idealized as an incompressible flow around a conducting obstacle. We compute changes in plasma composition resulting from this interaction as well as the reaction rates integrated over the...
We model Callisto’s exosphere based on its ice as well as non-ice surface via the use of a Monte-Carlo exosphere model. For the ice component we implement two putative compositions that have been computed from two possible extreme formation scenarios of the satellite. One composition represents the oxidizing state and is based on the assumption that the building blocks of Callisto were formed in the...
We present a map of Io’s volcanic heat flow. Io’s high heat flow is a result of intense tidal heating, which generates widespread volcanic activity. The surface expression of ongoing volcanic activity constrains the location and magnitude of tidal dissipation within Io. Tidal heating models place heating either at relatively shallow (aesthenosphere) levels, or deep in the mantle. It was thought that...
Jupiter’s sodium nebula, which originates from Io’s volcanic gas, shows variations in its brightness due to the volcanic activity on Io. Imaging observation of D-line brightness in the sodium nebula was performed from 2013 through 2015 in a conjunction with the HISAKI mission. The D-line brightness of the sodium nebula had been stably faint and dim until January 2015, but it showed a distinct enhancement...
Much of the geologic activity preserved on Europa’s icy surface has been attributed to tidal deformation, mainly due to Europa’s eccentric orbit. Although the surface is geologically young (30–80Myr), there is little information as to whether tidally-driven surface processes are ongoing. However, a recent detection of water vapor near Europa’s south pole suggests that it may be geologically active...
The time of crystallization of a 100km thick ocean on Europa is estimated using a Stefan-style solidification solution. This solution is then extended to estimate the present thickness of the ice shell. It is assumed that the shell is initially in a steady-state conductive regime, and the ocean is taken to be an infinite liquid half space cooling from above. We find that in the absence of tidal heating...
The H 2 O and O 2 exospheres of Jupiter’s moon Ganymede are simulated through the application of a 3D Monte Carlo modeling technique that takes into consideration the combined effect on the exosphere generation of the main surface release processes (i.e. sputtering, sublimation and radiolysis) and the surface precipitation of the energetic ions of Jupiter’s magnetosphere. In order...
We identify nine new faint thermal sources on Io via color ratio images constructed from relatively high spatial resolution Galileo NIMS data acquired late in the mission. All of these identifications are associated with small dark paterae. We utilize NIMS data to quantify their volcanic thermal emission as ∼0.53×10 12 W (or ∼0.5% of Io’s total heat flow). In addition, we refine our previous...
We have examined the variability of thermal emission from lava flows at Amirani on Io, using measurements of radiant flux from detections by the Galileo Near Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (NIMS) between 1996 and 2001. Amirani is the longest currently active lava flow field in the Solar System and a persistent thermal source in every Galileo NIMS observation that covers its location. We have quantified...
There is significant scientific interest in simulating the unique atmospheric conditions on the Jovian moon Io that range from cold surface temperatures to hyperthermal interactions which possibly supply the Jovian plasma torus. The Direct Simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method is well suited to model the rarefied, predominantly SO 2 , Ionian atmosphere. High speed collisions between SO ...
Jupiter’s second Galilean satellite, Europa, is a Moon-sized body with an icy shell and global ocean approximately 100km thick surrounding a rocky interior. Its surface displays extensive tectonic activity in a geologically recent past. Europa’s most ubiquitous surface features, double ridges, have a central trough flanked by two raised edifices. Double ridges can extend hundreds of kilometers and...
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