EVA Planetary Science
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National Aeronautics and Space Administration Planetary Science Context for EVA EVA Exploration Workshop Kelsey Young, Exploration Scientist | Trevor Graff, Exploration Scientist February 2020 Scientific Drivers for Planetary Exploration LRO: NASA GSFC Conceptual Images Lab MSL: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS OSIRIS-REX: NASA/Univ. AZ/Lockheed Martin • Massive advancements made since Apollo surface missions, but there are still a number of outstanding science questions across all potential targets of interest for human exploration • Areas of interest include geology, geophysics, geochemistry, atmospheres, life-related chemistry, etc. – Varying levels of human interaction – Astrobiology: Planetary Protection Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) Image 400m across Apollo 17 Landing Site Apollo 16 S-IVB Impact Crater LRO Traverse Planning NASA/GSFC/ASU NASA/GSFC/ASU Speyerer et al., 2016 • Jointly funded by ESMD/SMD • Initially operated to select landing sites for future crewed missions before being transferred for science operations • LRO Instrumentation: – CRaTER (Cosmic Ray Telescope for the Effects of Radiation) – DLRE (Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment) – LAMP (Lyman-Alpha Mapping Project) – LEND (Lunar Exploration Neutron Detector) – LROC (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera) – LOLA (Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter) Launched: 18 JUNE 2009 – Mini-RF (Miniature Radio Frequency) Science Enabling Exploration • LRO entering 4th extended mission and 10th year in lunar orbit • Fuel for 7 more years • Global topography at 60 m/pixel • Global coverage at 100 m/pixel • Localized topography at 2.5m/px for 4% of Moon • Global temperature data • Illumination maps of entire surface Dewar Cryptomaria Lunar Interior, Farside Volcanism New Advances in Lunar Science LRO Tour of the Moon in 4K • 5-minute animation that takes the viewer on a virtual tour of our nearest neighbor in space. • The tour has been recreated in eye-popping 4K resolution https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nr5Pj6GQL2o&feature=youtu.be COMMUNITY STRUCTURE, STRATEGIC KNOWLEDGE GAPS, AND DRIVING DOCS Planetary Science Analysis Groups • Analysis Groups – Organization of science sub communities into different groups based on subject area – AGs identify how far we’ve come, where we’re going, and develop and maintain outstanding science questions • MEPAG - Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group • LEAG - Lunar Exploration Analysis Group • SBAG - Small Bodies Analysis Group • CAPTEM - Curation and Analysis Planning Team for Extraterrestrial Materials • OPAG - Outer Planets Assessment Group • VEXAG - Venus Exploration Analysis Group LEAG Executive Committee Samuel Lawrence Chair NASA Johnson Space Center Brett Denevi Vice-Chair Johns Hopkins University APL Barbara Cohen Vice-Chair NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Clive Neal Emeritus Chair University of Notre Dame Amy Fagan LEAG Operations Chair Western Carolina University Ryan Watkins Workforce Development Chair Planetary Science Institute Kurt Klaus Commercial Chair Lunar and Planetary Institute Jerry Sanders Lunar Resources NASA Johnson Space Center Kelsey Young Lunar Surface Exploration NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Louise Prockter LPI Director Lunar and Planetary Institute Jasper Halekas ARTEMIS Representative University of Iowa Noah Petro LRO Representative NASA Goddard Space Flight Center James Carpenter ESA Representative European Space Agency Greg Schmidt SSERVI Director NASA Ames Research Center Jacob Bleacher Ex Officio NASA-HEOMD Sarah Noble Ex Officio NASA-SMD Andrew Petro Ex Officio NASA STMD Strategic Knowledge Gaps • After major outstanding questions are decided, the AGs compile Strategic Knowledge Gaps (SKGs) to direct future activities and identify areas for growth • Strategic Action Teams (SATs) are then assembled to address specific SKGs – Ex: SAT on Geoscience Astronaut Training • AGs with overlap into human exploration destinations (MEPAG, LEAG, SBAG) integrate exploration objectives into their charters • AG Executive Council membership pulls from government, industry, and academia – Each AG has annual or bi-annual meetings open to all SKGs for the “Moon First” Human Exploration Scenario (LEAG SAT) Lunar Science/Exploration Guiding Documents Scientific Context for the Vision and Voyages for Planetary Lunar Exploration Roadmap Advancing Science of the Moon: Exploration of the Moon (SCEM) Science in the Decade 2013-2022 (current version 1.3) Report of the Specific Action Team 2007 2009 2016 2017 . National Research Council . National Research Council . Lunar Exploration Analysis Group . LEAG Specific Action Team Report . Defines 8 prioritized science concepts . Identifies key questions facing (LEAG) . Chartered to evaluation the progress and associated science goals planetary science and outlines . A living/updated document towards achieving the goals of the . 4 Overarching Themes: 1) Terrestrial recommendations for exploration . Intended to layout an integrated & 2007 SCEM Report Planet Differentiation, 2) Earth/Moon . Lunar components include Lunar sustainable plan for lunar exploration . Reviewed the 8 original SCEM System, 3) Lunar Environment, 4) South Pole-Aitken Basin Sample . 3 Themes: 1) Science, 2) Feed concepts while adding 3 new Solar System Impact Record Return & Lunar Geophysical Network Forward, 3) Sustainability concepts Lunar Scientific Concepts The SCEM study identified eight areas of scientific research that should be addressed by future lunar exploration. Within each concept was a list of 35 prioritized science goals (Table 5.1). The science concepts were defined as follows: • S.1 The bombardment history of the inner Solar System is uniquely revealed on the Moon. • S.2 The structure and composition of the lunar interior provide fundamental information on the evolution of a differentiated planetary body. • S.3 Key planetary processes are manifested in the diversity of lunar crustal rocks. • S.4 The lunar poles are special environments that may bear witness to the volatile flux over the latter part of solar system history. • S.5 Lunar volcanism provides a window into the thermal and compositional evolution of the Moon. • S.6 The Moon is an accessible laboratory for studying the impact process on planetary scales. • S.7 The Moon is a natural laboratory for regolith processes and weathering on anhydrous airless bodies. • S.8 Processes involved with the atmosphere and dust environment of the Moon are accessible for scientific study while the environment remains in a pristine state. In addition to evaluating the progress made to achieving the 8 scientific concepts of the SCEM report, the ASM-SAT also added three new concepts: • A.1 The Lunar Water Cycle: while the SCEM report included polar volatiles, work over the last decade has pointed to a water cycle with three principle components: primordial (interior) water, surficial water (linked to solar wind), and polar (sequestered) water. • A.2 The Origin of the Moon: clues to lunar origin and geologic processes that operated during planetary accretion are recorded in the lunar rock record. Focused sample studies and sample return could be used to unlock these mysteries and test long-standing origin hypotheses. • A.3 Lunar Tectonism and Seismicity: over the last decade, high-resolution imagery has led to a dramatic increase in the number of tectonic landforms present on the lunar surface, including wrinkle ridges, rilles, and lobate scarps. The interior structure, thermal history, and mechanism(s) of heat loss of a planet are all related to the resulting distribution of surface tectonism. Recent LEAG Reports & Workshops LEAG has recently conducted several studies and workshops to prepare for lunar pivot Lunar South Pole Landing Vice President Mike Pence at the 5th meeting of the National Space Council “lunar South Pole holds great scientific, economic, and strategic value,” “when the first American astronauts return to the lunar surface, that they will take their first steps on the Moon’s South Pole.” March 26th, 2019 HLS-R-0306 Surface Access - Initial The HLS shall provide crew transfers to and from Lunar Orbit and a lunar landing site between 84°S and 90°S. Polar Volatiles High priority science & In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) target Permanently Shadowed Regions (PSRs) contain compounds such as water ice that are not found elsewhere on the Moon, but which contain clues to the history of the inner Solar System water and other volatile elements Mazarico (2011) and Siegler (2016) Lunar South Pole Landing 3 km Lunar South Pole Materials Material at the SP may be Near Side Far Side most like Apollo 16 samples from the lunar highlands . Primarily breccias (rocks composed of fragments of other, older rocks) 15 17 . Anorthosite (rocks from the early lunar magma ocean) . Few basalts (from nearby large 12 14 11 impacts) 16 Lunar South Pole Materials SP SP NASA/JPL-Caltech/IPGP Bulk density (kg/m3) of the lunar highlands generated using gravity data from GRAIL and topography data from LRO SSERVI - Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute (SSERVI) is a virtual institute established to advance basic and applied lunar and planetary science research and to advance human exploration of the solar system through scientific discovery. Focus areas include: • The Moon, Near Earth Asteroids (NEAs), Phobos & Deimos • Origin and evolution of the inner Solar System • Planetary differentiation processes • Potential human destinations • Structure and composition • Regolith, dust and plasma interactions