Related papers: Lunar Near-Surface Volatile Sample Return
Volatile loss from exoplanetary atmospheres and its possible implications for the longevity of habitable surface conditions is a topic of vigorous debate currently. The vast majority of the habitable zone terrestrial-like exoplanets known…
High-energy gamma-ray emission from the Galactic plane above ~100 MeV is composed of three main contributions: diffuse emission from cosmic ray interactions in the interstellar medium, emission from extended sources, such as supernova…
Venus' atmosphere shows highly variable warm vortices over both of the planet's poles. The nature of the mechanism behind their formation and properties is still unknown. Potential vorticity is a conserved quantity when advective processes…
Polar vortices are common planetary flows that encircle the pole in the middle or high latitudes, and are observed on most of the solar systems' planetary atmospheres. The polar vortices on Earth, Mars, and Titan are dynamically related to…
The strength of Titan's methane cycle, as measured by precipitation and evaporation, is key to interpreting fluvial erosion and other indicators of the surface-atmosphere exchange of liquids. But the mechanisms behind the occurrence of…
Here we discuss the current state of knowledge on how atmospheric escape processes can fractionate noble gas isotopes and moderately volatile rock-forming elements that populate primordial atmospheres, magma ocean related environments, and…
Mars' thin, CO$_2$-rich atmosphere poses a unique puzzle involving composition, climate history, and habitability. This work explores the intrincate relationship between Mars' atmospheric variations and dynamic solar activity patterns. We…
Volatile molecules containing hydrogen, carbon, and nitrogen are key components of planetary atmospheres. In the pebble accretion model for rocky planet formation, these volatile species are accreted during the main planetary formation…
We use the Mars Regional Atmospheric Modeling System (MRAMS) to simulate lake storms on Mars, finding that intense localized precipitation will occur for lake size >=10^3 km^2. Mars has a low-density atmosphere, so deep convection can be…
Flowing water and brine have been proposed to cause seasonally reappearing dark streaks called recurring slope lineae (RSL) on steep warm slopes on Mars, along with other formation mechanisms that do not involve water. This study aims to…
Possible explanations of the recently reported anomalous increase of the eccentricity of the lunar orbit are sought in terms of classical Newtonian mechanics, general relativity, and long-range modifications of gravity.
A recent study by Ramirez et al. (2014) demonstrated that an atmosphere with 1.3-4 bar of CO2 and H2O, in addition to 5-20% H2, could have raised the mean annual and global surface temperature of early Mars above the freezing point of…
The lunar farside highlands, referred to as the lunar farside thicker crust compared with the nearside crust, presents a challenge to the theory of formation and evolution of the Moon. Here, we show that, after the Moon reached synchronous…
Venus's past climate evolution is uncertain. General circulation model simulations permit a habitable climate as late as ~0.7 Ga, and there is suggestive-albeit inconclusive-evidence for previous liquid water from surface geomorphology and…
Saturn's Moon Titan receives volatiles into the top of its atmosphere-including atomic oxygen-sourced from cryovolcanoes on Enceladus. Similar types of atmosphere exchange from one body to another, such as O2 and O3 sourced from TRAPPIST-1…
The climate of Mars likely evolved from a warmer, wetter early state to the cold, arid current state. However, no solutions for this evolution have previously been found to satisfy the observed geological features and isotopic measurements…
Planetary rotation rate is a key parameter in determining atmospheric circulation and hence the spatial pattern of clouds. Since clouds can exert a dominant control on planetary radiation balance, rotation rate could be critical for…
The sunlight reflected from the Moon during a total lunar eclipse has been transmitted through the Earth's atmosphere on the way to the Moon. The combination of multiple scattering and inhomogeneous atmospheric characteristics during that…
Earthshine is the dominant source of natural illumination on the surface of the Moon during lunar night, and at locations within permanently shadowed regions that never receive direct sunlight. As such, earthshine may enable the exploration…
Several physical mechanisms are involved in excavating granular materials beneath a vertical jet of gas. These occur, for example, beneath the exhaust plume of a rocket landing on the soil of the Moon or Mars. A series of experiments and…