Experimental Investigation of Planetary Atmospheres

行星大气的实验研究

• 批准号: RGPIN-2022-04608
• 负责人: Whiteway, James
• 金额: $ 2.19万
• 依托单位: York University
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2022-01-01 至 2023-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=751041
• 关键词: Experimental; Investigation; Planetary; Atmospheres

Exploration of Mars addresses the most profound questions concerning habitability for life, either in the distant past or the present. The findings from each Mars exploration mission provide pieces of the puzzle and the most crucial advancements so far concern water. There is evidence for flowing liquid water on Mars in the distant past and it is understood that much of that water has escaped to space over the history of the planet. The rate at which the water escapes the atmosphere is dependent on the transport pathways from the surface to the upper atmosphere. Clouds in the atmosphere of Mars are composed of ice crystals that grow large enough to precipitate to the surface. This is a mechanism for dehydrating the air as it ascends to the upper atmosphere, confining water to lower altitudes. The clouds and precipitation are a significant factor in the rate at which water is lost from the planet and thus also in the history of water on Mars. One of the objectives of the research program is to investigate the role of clouds and precipitation in dehydrating air as it ascends through the atmosphere of Mars. This is being carried out using measurements of clouds and water vapour from the NOMAD instrument on the European Space Agency Trace Gas Orbiter mission that is currently in orbit at Mars. These measurements are being interpreted using a computer simulation model to trace the path of air parcels through the atmosphere of Mars.     Another objective of the research program concerns the exchange of water between the surface and the atmosphere on Mars. This has implications for understanding the origin of the vast amount of water ice below the surface of Mars. An important discovery during the NASA Phoenix Mars mission was the identification of perchlorate salt in the surface material. Perchlorate salt is of great interest for studies of water on Mars due to its ability to absorb water vapour from the atmosphere into a liquid solution with a freezing point that is as low as -67 degrees Celsius. It is possible that liquid water occurs on the surface of Mars. This has intriguing biological implications since such a liquid brine solution could potentially provide a habitable environment for living organisms. A new instrument is being developed to investigate this process in the laboratory with the conditions on the surface of Mars being recreated within an environmental chamber. The long-term goal is to carry out the investigation on the surface of Mars with a miniaturized version of the instrument on a landed spacecraft.     Trained students will gain skills in optical technologies and analysis methods that are of widespread use in Canadian science and industry. Contribution of an instrument for a future Mars mission will be a benefit to Canada as a multidisciplinary group of academics from various Canadian universities would compose the science team, and the Canadian space engineering industry would construct the space qualified instrument.

对火星的探索解决了关于生命可居住性的最深刻的问题，无论是在遥远的过去还是现在。每一次火星探测任务的发现都为这个谜题提供了一些线索，迄今为止最关键的进展与水有关。有证据表明，在遥远的过去，火星上有流动的液态水，而且据了解，在火星的历史上，大部分水已经逃逸到太空中。水从大气中逸出的速率取决于从地表到上层大气的输送途径。火星大气中的云是由冰晶组成的，这些冰晶长得足够大，可以沉淀到火星表面。这是一种使空气在上升到高层大气时脱水的机制，将水限制在较低的高度。云和降水是影响火星上水流失速度的重要因素，因此也是影响火星上水的历史的重要因素。该研究计划的目标之一是研究云层和降水在空气在火星大气中上升时脱水的作用。这是利用目前在火星轨道上的欧洲空间局微量气体轨道飞行器任务上的NOMAD仪器对云和水蒸气的测量来进行的。这些测量结果正在用计算机模拟模型来解释，以追踪包裹穿过火星大气层的路径。该研究计划的另一个目标涉及火星表面和大气之间的水交换。这对了解火星表面下大量水冰的起源具有重要意义。美国宇航局凤凰号火星任务期间的一项重要发现是在火星表面物质中发现了高氯酸盐。高氯酸盐对研究火星上的水非常有兴趣，因为它能够从大气中吸收水蒸气，形成凝固点低至零下67摄氏度的液体溶液。火星表面有可能存在液态水。这具有有趣的生物学意义，因为这种液体盐水溶液可能为生物提供可居住的环境。一种新的仪器正在开发中，用于在实验室中研究这一过程，在一个环境室中重现火星表面的条件。长期目标是在着陆的航天器上使用该仪器的小型化版本在火星表面进行调查。训练有素的学生将获得在加拿大科学和工业中广泛使用的光学技术和分析方法的技能。为未来的火星任务贡献一种仪器将有利于加拿大，因为来自加拿大各大学的多学科学者小组将组成科学小组，加拿大空间工程工业将建造空间合格的仪器。