Terrestrial Analogs to Planetary Volcanic Processes

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter J. Mouginis-Mark ◽  
Lionel Wilson
Keyword(s):  
Solar System ◽  
Planetary Science ◽  
Lava Flows ◽  
Forthcoming Article ◽  
Shield Volcanoes ◽  
System P ◽  
Volcanic Processes ◽  
Topographic Characteristics ◽  
Solar System Exploration ◽  
Spacecraft Data

This is an advance summary of a forthcoming article in the Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Planetary Science. Please check back later for the full article. More than 50 years of solar system exploration has revealed the great diversity of volcanic landscapes beyond the Earth, be they formed by molten rock, liquid water, or other volatile species. Classic examples of giant shield volcanoes, solidified lava flows, extensive ash deposits, and volcanic vents can all be identified but, with the exception of eruptions seen on the Jovian moon Io, none of these planetary volcanoes have been observed in eruption. Consequently, the details of the processes that created these landscapes must be inferred from the available spacecraft data. Despite the increasing improvement in the spatial, temporal, compositional, and topographic characteristics of the data for planetary volcanoes, details of the manner in which they formed are not clear. However, terrestrial eruptions can provide numerous insights into planetary eruptions, whether they result in the emplacement of lava flows, explosive eruptions due to volatiles in the magma, or the interaction between hot lava and water or ice. In recent decades, growing attention has therefore been directed at the use of terrestrial analogs to help interpret volcanic landforms and processes on the terrestrial planets (Mercury, Venus, the Moon, and Mars) and in the outer solar system (the moons of Jupiter and Saturn, the larger asteroids, and potentially Pluto). In addition, terrestrial analogs not only provide insights into the geologic processes associated with volcanism, but they can also serve as test sites for the development of instrumentation to be sent to other worlds, as well as serve as a training ground for manned and unmanned explorers seeking to better understand volcanism throughout the solar system.

Trans-Neptunian Dwarf Planets

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bryan Holler
Keyword(s):  
Solar System ◽  
Surface Composition ◽  
Planetary Science ◽  
Chemical Diversity ◽  
Asteroid Belt ◽  
Dynamical Structure ◽  
Forthcoming Article ◽  
Cold Temperatures ◽  
Dwarf Planets ◽  
Physical And Chemical

This is an advance summary of a forthcoming article in the Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Planetary Science. Please check back later for the full article. The International Astronomical Union (IAU) officially recognizes five objects as dwarf planets: Ceres in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter; and Pluto, Eris, Haumea, and Makemake in the trans-Neptunian region beyond the orbit of Neptune. However, the definition used by the IAU applies to many other trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) and can be summarized as any nonsatellite large enough to be rounded by its own gravity. Practically speaking, this means any nonsatellite with a diameter >400 km. In the trans-Neptunian region, there are more than 100 objects that satisfy this definition, based on published results and diameter estimates. The dynamical structure of the trans-Neptunian region records the migration history of the giant planets in the early days of the solar system. The semi-major axes, eccentricities, and orbital inclinations of TNOs across various dynamical classes provide constraints on different aspects of planetary migration. For many TNOs, the orbital parameters are all that is known about them, due to their large distances, small sizes, and low albedos. The TNO dwarf planets are a different story. These objects are large enough to be studied in more detail from ground- and space-based observatories. Imaging observations can be used to detect satellites and measure surface colors, while spectroscopy can be used to constrain surface composition. In this way, TNO dwarf planets not only help provide context for the dynamical evolution of the outer solar system, but also reveal the composition of the primordial solar nebula as well as the physical and chemical processes at work at very cold temperatures. The largest TNO dwarf planets, those officially recognized by the IAU, plus others such as Sedna, Quaoar, and Gonggong, are large enough to support volatile ices on their surfaces in the present day. These ices are able to exist as solids and gases on some TNOs, due to their sizes and surface temperatures (similar to water ice on Earth) and include N2 (nitrogen), CH4 (methane), and CO (carbon monoxide). A global atmosphere composed of these three species has been detected around Pluto, the largest TNO dwarf planet, with the possibility of local atmospheres or global atmospheres at perihelion for Eris and Makemake. The presence of nonvolatile species, such as H2O (water), NH3 (ammonia), and organics provide valuable information on objects that may be too small to retain volatile ices over the age of the solar system. In particular, large quantities of H2O mixed with NH3 points to ancient cryovolcanism caused by internal differentiation of ice from rock. Organic material, formed through radiation processing of surface ices such as CH4, records the radiation histories of these objects as well as providing clues to their primordial surface compositions. The dynamical, physical, and chemical diversity of the >100 TNO dwarf planets are key to understanding the formation of the solar system and subsequent evolution to its current state. Most of our knowledge comes from a small handful of objects, but we are continually expanding our horizons as additional objects are studied in more detail.

scholarly journals Hypervelocity Capture of Meteoroids in Aerogel

1996 ◽  
Vol 150 ◽  
pp. 237-242 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Tsou
Keyword(s):  
Solar System ◽  
Solar Nebula ◽  
Planetary Science ◽  
Laboratory Analysis ◽  
Dust Particles ◽  
Sample Return ◽  
Processing History ◽  
History Of ◽  
Sample Return Mission ◽  
Solar System Exploration

Micrometeoroids of cometary or asteroidal origin constitute a unique repository of information concerning the formation and subsequent processing history of materials in the solar nebula. One of the current goals of planetary science is to return samples from a known primitive extraterrestrial body for detailed laboratory analysis (NASA Solar System Exploration Committee, SSEC 1983). Planetary flyby orbital motions dictate that dust particles will approach the spacecraft at relative speeds up to tens of km/s. It has always been thought that these hypervelocity particles could not be captured without melting or vaporizing. We have developed the intact capture technology that enables flyby sample return of these hypervelocity particles. The STARDUST comet sample return mission, selected as the fourth NASA. Discovery mission, capitalizes on this technology (Brownlee et al. 1996).

Landslides in the Solar System

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Teresa Brunetti ◽  
Silvia Peruccacci
Keyword(s):  
Solar System ◽  
Slope Failure ◽  
Visual Analysis ◽  
Planetary Science ◽  
Aerial Photographs ◽  
Mass Movements ◽  
Submarine Landslides ◽  
Forthcoming Article ◽  
Landslide Mass ◽  
Solid Bodies

This is an advance summary of a forthcoming article in the Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Planetary Science. Please check back later for the full article. Landslides are gravity-driven mass movements of rock, earth, or debris. All of these surface processes occur under the influence of gravity, meaning that they globally move material from higher to lower places. Outside Earth, these structures were first observed in a lunar crater during the Apollo program, but mass movements have been spotted on several rocky worlds (solid bodies) in the solar system, including icy satellites, asteroids, and comets. On Earth, landslides have the effect of shaping the landscape more or less rapidly, leaving a signature that is recognised through field surveys and visual analysis, or automatic identification, on aerial photographs or satellite images. Landslides observed on Earth and in solid bodies of the solar system are of different types on the basis of their movement and the material involved in the failure. Material is either rock or soil (or both) with a variable fraction of water or ice; a soil mainly composed of sand-sized or finer particles is referred to as earth, while it is called debris if composed of coarse fragments. The landslide mass may be displaced in several types of movement, classified generically as falling, toppling, sliding, spreading, or flowing. Such diverse characteristics mean that the size of a landslide (e.g., area, volume, fall height, length) can vary widely. For example, on Earth, their areas range up to eleven orders of magnitude, while their volumes vary by eighteen orders, from small rock fragments to huge submarine landslides. The classification of extraterrestrial landslides is based on terrestrial analogs, which have similarities and characteristics that resemble those found on the planetary body. This morphological classification is made regardless of the geomorphological environment or processes that may have triggered the slope failure. Comparing landslide characteristics on various planetary bodies helps to understand the effect of surface gravity on landslide initiation and propagation, which can be of tremendous importance when designing manned and unmanned missions with landings on extraterrestrial bodies. Regardless of the practical applications of such study, knowing the morphology and surface dynamics that shape solid bodies in the space surrounding the Earth is something that has fascinated the human imagination since the time of Galileo.

Detecting Minerals and Organics Relevant to Planetary Exploration Using a Compact Portable Remote Raman System at 122 Meters

2020 ◽  
pp. 000370282094366
Author(s):  
Macey W. Sandford ◽  
Anupam K. Misra ◽  
Tayro E. Acosta-Maeda ◽  
Shiv K. Sharma ◽  
John N. Porter ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Solar System ◽  
Yttrium Aluminum Garnet ◽  
Planetary Science ◽  
Planetary Exploration ◽  
Hydrous Minerals ◽  
Water Ice ◽  
Natural Lighting ◽  
Intensified Charge Coupled Device ◽  
Solar System Exploration ◽  
Molecular Compounds

Raman spectroscopy is a technique that can detect and characterize a range of molecular compounds such as water, water ice, water-bearing minerals, and organics of particular interest to planetary science. The detection and characterization of these molecular compounds, which are indications of habitability on planetary bodies, have become an important goal for planetary exploration missions spanning the solar system. Using a compact portable remote Raman system consisting of a 532 nm neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet- (Nd:YAG-) pulsed laser, a 3-in. (7.62 cm) diameter mirror lens and a compact spectrograph with a miniature intensified charge coupled device (mini-ICCD), we were able to detect water (H2O), water ice (H2O-ice), CO2-ice, hydrous minerals, organics, nitrates, and an amino acid from a remote distance of 122 m in natural lighting conditions. To the best of our knowledge, this is the longest remote Raman detection using a compact system. The development of this uniquely compact portable remote Raman system is applicable to a range of solar system exploration missions including stationary landers for ocean worlds and lunar exploration, as they provide unambiguous detection of compounds indicative of life as well as resources necessary for further human exploration.

Drifting Through a Planetary System

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karel Schrijver
Keyword(s):  
Seventeenth Century ◽  
Solar System ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Planetary System ◽  
System P ◽  
History Of ◽  
Or Team ◽  
Water Contents

This chapter describes how the first found exoplanets presented puzzles: they orbited where they should not have formed or where they could not have survived the death of their stars. The Solar System had its own puzzles to add: Mars is smaller than expected, while Venus, Earth, and Mars had more water—at least at one time—than could be understood. This chapter shows how astronomers worked through the combination of these puzzles: now we appreciate that planets can change their orbits, scatter water-bearing asteroids about, steal material from growing planets, or team up with other planets to stabilize their future. The special history of Jupiter and Saturn as a pair bringing both destruction and water to Earth emerged from the study of seventeenth-century resonant clocks, from the water contents of asteroids, and from experiments with supercomputers imposing the laws of physics on virtual worlds.

Exploring the Solar System

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karel Schrijver
Keyword(s):  
Solar System ◽  
Planetary Systems ◽  
Interplanetary Dust ◽  
Terrestrial Planets ◽  
The Moon ◽  
System P ◽  
Asteroids And Comets

In this chapter, the author summarizes the properties of the Solar System, and how these were uncovered. Over centuries, the arrangement and properties of the Solar System were determined. The distinctions between the terrestrial planets, the gas and ice giants, and their various moons are discussed. Whereas humans have walked only on the Moon, probes have visited all the planets and several moons, asteroids, and comets; samples have been returned to Earth only from our moon, a comet, and from interplanetary dust. For Earth and Moon, seismographs probed their interior, whereas for other planets insights come from spacecraft and meteorites. We learned that elements separated between planet cores and mantels because larger bodies in the Solar System were once liquid, and many still are. How water ended up where it is presents a complex puzzle. Will the characteristics of our Solar System hold true for planetary systems in general?

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