Related papers: Enabling Ice Core Science on Mars and Ocean Worlds
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…
Soil assessment is important for mobile robot planning and navigation on natural and planetary environments. Terramechanic characteristics can be inferred from the thermal behaviour of soils under the influence of sunlight using remote…
It has been suggested that the comet-like activity of Main Belt Comets are due to the sublimation of sub-surface water-ice that has been exposed as a result of their surfaces being impacted by m-sized bodies. We have examined the viability…
Extremely large deuteration of several molecules has been observed towards prestellar cores and low-mass protostars for a decade. New observations performed towards low-mass protostars suggest that water presents a lower deuteration in the…
NASA JPL scientists working on the micro x-ray fluorescence (microXRF) spectroscopy data collected from Mars surface perform data analysis to look for signs of past microbial life on Mars. Their data analysis workflow mainly involves…
Today's astronomical projects need computational systems capable to store and analyze large amounts of scientific data, to effectively share data with other research Institutes and to easily implement information services to present data…
The Muon Ionization Cooling Experiment (MICE) will demonstrate the feasibility of ionization cooling, the technique by which it is proposed to cool the muon beam at a future neutrino factory or muon collider. The position and momentum…
The Los Alamos National Laboratory designed and built Mars Odyssey Neutron Spectrometer (MONS) has been in excellent health operating from February 2002 to the present. MONS measures the neutron leakage albedo from galactic cosmic ray…
We describe optical spectroscopic observations of the icy dwarf planet Eris with the 6.5 meter MMT telescope and the Red Channel Spectrograph. We report a correlation, that is at the edge of statistical significance, between blue shift and…
Geophysical measurements can reveal the structure of icy ocean worlds and cycling of volatiles. The associated density, temperature, sound speed, and electrical conductivity of such worlds thus characterizes their habitability. To explore…
Sea ice harbours a rich community of well-adapted microorganisms that inhabit liquid micro-spaces where extreme conditions prevail. Currently at risk under climate change, the sea-ice microbiome holds mysteries about evolution of life on…
For decades, scientists have tried to explain the evidence for fluvial activity on early Mars, but a consensus has yet to emerge regarding the mechanism for producing it. One hypothesis suggests early Mars was warmed by a thick greenhouse…
Cool a piece of the Sun to 1000 K at one millibar pressure to yield a mineral assemblage consistent with those found in the most primitive meteorites. This is an equilibrium or fractional condensation experiment simulated by calculations…
The polar condensation/sublimation of CO2, that involve about one fourth of the atmosphere mass, is the major Martian climatic cycle. Early observations in visible and thermal infrared have shown that the sublimation of the Seasonal South…
We discuss 3D global simulations of the early Martian climate that we have performed assuming a faint young Sun and denser CO2 atmosphere. We include a self-consistent representation of the water cycle, with atmosphere-surface interactions,…
Brinicles are self-assembling tubular ice membrane structures, centimeters to meters in length, found beneath sea ice in the polar regions of Earth. We discuss how the properties of brinicles make them of possible importance for chemistry…
The detection of biologically important, organic molecules on Mars is an important goal that may soon be reached. However, the current small number of organic detections at the Martian surface may be due to the harsh UV and radiation…
The outer solar system may provide a potential habitat for extraterrestrial life. Remote sensing data from the Galileo spacecraft suggest that the jovian icy moons, Europa, Ganymede, and possibly Callisto, may harbor liquid water oceans…
The identification of extraterrestrial life is one the most exciting and challenging endeavors in space research. The existence of extinct or extant life can be inferred from biogenic elements, isotopes, and molecules, but accurate and…
Our knowledge about the physical processes determining the activity of comets were mainly influenced by several extremely successful space missions, the predictions of theoretical models and the results of laboratory experiments. However,…