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NASA NTRS2005

Formation of Martian Gullies by the Action of Liquid Water Flowing Under Current Martian Environmental Conditions

Images from the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) on the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) spacecraft show geologically young small-scale features resembling terrestrial water-carved gullies. An improved understanding of these features has the potential to reveal important information about the hydrological system on Mars, which is of general interest to the planetary science community as well as the field of astrobiology and the search for life on Mars. The young geologic age of these gullies is often thought to be a paradox because liquid water is unstable at the Martian surface. Current temperatures and pressures are generally below the triple point of water (273 K, 6.1 mbar) so that liquid water will spontaneously boil and/or freeze. We therefore examine the flow of water on Mars to determine what conditions are consistent with the observed features of the gullies.

Heldmann, J. L.↗
NASA NTRS2005

Observations of Hydrated Minerals on Asteroids: Pushing Back the Frontiers

The three accomplishments during this grant include: 1) Travel to 2004 Division of Planetary Science (of American Astronomical Society) Conference in Louisville, KY and presentation of Rotationally resolved spectroscopy of Vesta in the 1-4 micron region, abstract 28.07. 2) Remote observations using the IRTF on 20-21 June 2004 and 28-3 1 August 2004, and reduction of data as described in the grant proposal and descoping document. These observations confirm the presence of two different band shapes among C-class asteroid spectra in the 3-micron region. This allowed a revision of the known distribution of Ceres- and Pallas-type objects. 3) Remote observations using the IRTF on 7-10 August 2004. These observations of Vesta were presented, and the manuscript will be submitted to Icarus in June.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS2005

Terrestrial Planet Evolution

The goals of this proposal involved constructing 1:5M scale geologic maps of V-23 (Niobe Planitia) and V-24 (Greenaway) quadrangles, and ancillary materials to be submitted to USGS as part of the VMAP project. Complete geologic maps and packages of ancillary materials for V-23 and V-24 have been submitted to USGS and are currently under review. In addition to these products, we have published or submitted various manuscript and/abstracts detailing the results of our research that has grown out of the proposed work. We presented our maps in various stages of construction at NASA Planetary Geology and Geophysics Mappers' meeting each year. We have also presented talks or posters summarizing our work at various conferences including: he Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, and the National Geological Society of America meeting. The work resulted in exciting developments of Venus lowland resurfacing. The products and publications resulting from this work are listed below.

Hansen, Vicki L.↗
NASA NTRS2005

Fractionation and Accretion of Meteorite Parent Bodies

Senior Scientist Stuart J. Weidenschilling presents his final administrative report for the research program on which he was the Principal Investigator. The research program resulted in the following publications: 1) Particle-gas dynamics and primary accretion. J. N. Cuzzi and S. J . Weidenschilling. To appear in Meteorites and the Early Solar System 11 (D. Lauretta et a]., Eds.), Univ. Arizona Press. 2005; 2) Timescales of the solar protoplanetary disk. S. Russell, L. Hartmann, J . N. Cuzzi, A. Krot, M. Gounelle and S. J. Weidenschilling. To appear in Meteorites and the Early Solar System II (D. Lauretta et al., Eds.), Univ. Arizona Press, 2005; 3) Nebula evolution of thermally processed solids: Reconciling astrophysical models and chondritic meteorites. J. N. Cuzzi, F. J. Ciesla, M. I. Petaev, A. N. Krot, E. R. D. Scott and S . J. Weidenschilling. To appear in Chondrites and the Protoplanetary Disk (A. Krot et a]., Eds.), ASP Conference Series, 2005; 4) Possible chondrule formation in planetesimal bow shocks: Physical processes in the near vicinity of the planetesimal. L. L. Hood, F. J. Ciesla and S. J. Weidenschilling. To appear in Chondrites and the Protoplanetary Disk (A. Krot et al., Eds.), ASP Conference Series, 2005; 5) From icy grains to comets. In Comets II (M. Festou et al., Eds.), Univ. Arizona Press, pp. 97- 104, 2005; 6) Evaluating planetesimal bow shocks as sites for chondrule formation. F. J . Ciesla, L. L. Hood and S. J. Weidenschilling. Meteoritics & Planetary Science 39, 1809-1 821, 2004; and 7) Radial drift of particles in the solar nebula: Implications for planetesimal formation. Icarus 165, 438-442, 2003.

Weidenschilling, Stuart J.↗
NASA NTRS2006

The Space Physics of Life: Searching for Biosignatures on Habitable Icy Worlds Affected by Space Weathering

Accessible surfaces of the most likely astrobiological habitats (Mars, Europa, Titan) in the solar system beyond Earth are exposed to various chemical and hydrologic weathering processes directly or indirectly induced by interaction with the overlying space environment. These processes can be both beneficial, through provision of chemical compounds and energy, and destructive, through chemical dissociation or burial, to detectable presence of biosignatures. Orbital, suborbital, and surface platforms carrying astrobiological instrumentation must survive, and preferably exploit, space environment interactions to reach these habitats and search for evidence of life or its precursors. Experience from Mars suggests that any detection of biosignatures must be accompanied by characterization of the local chemical environment and energy sources including irradiation by solar ultraviolet photons and energetic particles from the space environment. Orbital and suborbital surveys of surface chemistry and astrobiological potential in the context of the space environment should precede targeted in-situ measurements to maximize probability of biosignature detection through site selection. The Space Physics of Life (SPOL) investigation has recently been proposed to the NASA Astrobiology Institute and is briefly described in this presentation. SPOL is the astrobiologically relevant study of the interactions and relationships of potentially? or previously inhabited, bodies of the solar system with the surrounding environments. This requires an interdisciplinary effort in space physics, planetary science, and radiation biology. The proposed investigation addresses the search for habitable environments, chemical resources to support life, and techniques for detection of organic and inorganic signs of life in the context of the space environment.

Cooper, John F.↗
NASA NTRS2002

Building a virtual planet

The virtual Planetary Laboratory (VPL) is a recently funded 5-yr project, which seeks toimprove our understanding of the range of plausible environments and the likely signatures for life on extrasolar terrestrial planets. To achieve these goals we are developing a suite of innovative modeling tools to simulate the environments and spectra of extrasolar planets. The core of the VPL IS a coupled radiative transfer/climate/chemistry model, which is augmented by interchangeable modules which characterize geological, exogenic, atmospheric escape, and life processes. The VPL is validated using data derived from terrestrial planets within our own solar system. The VPL will be used to explore the plausible range of atmospheric composittions and globally averaged spectra for extrasolar planets and for early Earth, and will improve our understanding of the effect of life on a planet's atmospheric spectrum and composition. The models will also be used to create a comprehensive spectral catalog to provide recommendations on the optimum wavelength range, spectral resolution, and instrument sensitivity required to characterize extrasolar terrestrial planets. Although developed by our team, the VPL is envisioned to be a comprehensive and flexible tool, which can be collaboratively used by the broader planetary science and astrobiology communities. This presentation will describe the project concept, the tasks involved, and will outline current progress to date. This work is funded by the NASA Astrobiology Institute.

astrobiology↗
NASA NTRS2001

The Techsat-21 Autonomous Sciencecraft Constellation demonstration

The Autonomous Sciencecraft Constellation flight demonstration (ASC) will fly onboard the Air Forces's TechSat-21 constellation. Demonstration of its capabilities in a flight environment will open up tremendous new opportunities in planetary science, space physics, and earth science that would be unreadable without this technology.

scheduling planning resources model based sytems↗
NASA NTRS2000

Return to the Moon: The Great Basin Lunar Sample Return Mission

In cooperation with NASA's Solar System Exploration Subcommittee and its working groups, JPL is investigating the feasibility of planetary science missions proposed for launch toward the end of the next decade.

Return to the Moon Great Basin Lunar Sample Return↗
NASA NTRS1993

Extraterrestrial Life

Extraterrestrial Intelligence is intelligent life that developed somewhere other than the earth. Such life has not yet been discovered. However, scientific research, including astronomy, biology, planetary science and studies of fossils here on earth have led many scientists to conclude that such life may exist on planets orbiting at least some of the hundreds of billions of stars in our Milky Way Galaxy. Today, some researchers are trying to find evidence for extraterrestrial intelligence. This effort is often called SETI, which stands for Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence. SETI researchers decided that looking for evidence of their technology might be the best way to discover other intelligent life in the Galaxy. They decided to use large radio telescopes to search the sky over a wide range of radio frequencies...

Klein, M. J.↗
NASA NTRS1994

(abstract) Saturn Mini-Probes Mission

The original Cassini mission concept for intensive Saturn exploration included dual atmospheric probes - to Titan and Saturn. The Saturn probe was lost in Cassini Project cost reduction, but the Saturn atmospheric goals are still important to the planetary science community - especially it measurements can be acquired during synoptic coverage by the Cassini Orbiter. New advanced technology and design heritage from the Pluto Fast Flyby mission permit a low cost mission concept for launch early in the first decade of the 21st century, in time to take advantage of the Cassini spacecraft being in orbit around Saturn. This paper will describe such a concept. The mini-probe carrier can be a relatively simple design, depending on a solar array/battery power system design instead of Radioactive Thermoelectric Generators (RTGs) with their attendant programmatic complexities, costs, and constraints. The Atlas IIAS/Star 48B, Proton, and STS with upper stage are launch vehicle options which permit modest payload deliveries to Saturn with relatively short flight times (3 to 4 years) such that the mini-probes arrive in the time period when the Cassini Orbiter is operating at Saturn. The Cassini time-line with a compatible SMP mission sequence is described. An example mission concept includes a carrier spacecraft with three 10 to 20 kg mini-probes, launched in the late summer of 2001 by an Atlas IIAS/Star 48B on a 3.8 year trip to Saturn. Preliminary evaluation of the Cassini time-line suggests compatibility of the probe entries with collecting the data for Earth-return.

Saturn Cassini miniprobes cost Pluto Fast Flyby↗
NASA NTRS2003

Rovers for intelligent, agile traverse of challenging terrain

Planetary surface mobility has to date been limited to benign locations. If rover systems could be developed for more challenging terrain, e.g., sloped and irregularly feathered areas, then planetary science opportunities would be greatly expanded.

rover terrain surface mobility↗
NASA NTRS2000

Venus Surface Sample Return

In cooperation with NASA's Solar System Exploration Subcommittee (SSES) the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is conducting a series of studies to assess the feasibility of planetary science missions proposed for launch in the 2006-2010 time frame and to prioritize technology development steps that will enable these missions.

Venus Surface Sample Return NASA SSES JPL mission↗
NASA NTRS1994

The Dark Side of Iapetus: New Evidence for an Exogenous Origin

The Saturnian satellite Iapetus presents one of the most unusual appearances of any object in the Solar System: one hemisphere is about 10 times as bright as the other. The origin of the dark hemisphere - which reflects only a few percent of the solar radiation falling on it - is one of the great enigmas of planetary science.

Iapetus↗
NASA NTRS2005

Deep Impact comet encounter: design, development, and operations of the big event at Tempel 1

Deep Impact is NASA's eighth Discovery mission. This low-cost, focused planetary science investigation gathered the data necessary to help scientists unlock early secrets of our solar system. The comet encounter with Tempel 1 was a complex event - requiring extremely accurate timing, robustness to an unknown environment, and flight team adaptibility. The mission operations and flight systems performance were spectacular for approach, impact, and lookback imaging on July 4, 2005.

sequence design↗
NASA NTRS2005

Deep Impact comet encounter: design, development, and operations of the Big Event at Tempel 1

Deep Impact is NASA's eighth Discovery mission. This low-cost, focused planetary science investigation gathered the data necessary to help scientists unlock early secrets of our solar system. The comet encounter with Tempel 1 was a complex event - requiring extremely accurate timing, robutstness to an unknown environment, and flight team adaptability. The mission operations and flight systems performance were spectacular for approach, impact, and lookback imaging on July 4, 2005.

encounter↗
NASA NTRS2006

Intelligent Rover Execution for Detecting Life in the Atacama Desert

On-board supervisory execution is crucial for the deployment of more capable and autonomous remote explorers. Planetary science is considering robotic explorers operating for long periods of time without ground supervision while interacting with a changing and often hostile environment. Effective and robust operations require on-board supervisory control with a high level of awareness of the principles of functioning of the environment and of the numerous internal subsystems that need to be coordinated. We describe an on-board rover executive that was deployed on a rover as past of the "Limits of Life in the Atacama Desert (LITA)" field campaign sponsored by the NASA ASTEP program. The executive was built using the Intelligent Distributed Execution Architecture (IDEA), an execution framework that uses model-based and plan-based supervisory control of its fundamental computational paradigm. We present the results of the third field experiment conducted in the Atacama desert (Chile) in August - October 2005.

Baskaran, Vijayakumar↗