What's New in Planetary Science: a Tour of Recent Discoveries in Our
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LIVE INTERACTIVE LEARNING @ YOUR DESKTOP What’s New in Planetary Science: A Tour of Recent Discoveries in Our Solar System and Beyond Presented by: Sarah Noble December 3, 2012 6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. Eastern time 1 Introducing today’s presenter… Sarah Noble Research Scientist NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD 2 What’s New in Planetary Science: A Tour of Recent Discoveries in Our Solar System and Beyond Sarah Noble NASA GSFC / NASA HQ A little about me… Class of 1993 Class of 1998 Class of 2004 Worked for Congress NASA JSC (Houston) NASA HQ (Washington, DC) NASA Marshall (Alabama) NASA Goddard (Maryland) MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry and Ranging (MESSENGER) –NASA In orbit since 2011 1st Mercury orbiter A note about “nomenclature” http://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/ ‐ Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature A note about “nomenclature” Mozart Beethoven Tolstoj Rembrandt http://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/ ‐ Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature A note about “nomenclature” Seuss Mozart Warhol Beethoven Tolstoj Rembrandt http://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/ ‐ Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature MESSENGER results Mercury is not a slightly bigger version of the Moon –it has it’s own weird and wonderful mysteries Venus Express –ESA In orbit since 2006 Long‐term atmosphere study Akatsuki – JAXA Launched in 2010, but missed Venus Will try again in 2015 Launch August 27th, 1962 Venus Fly‐by December 14th, 1962 http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/50th/ (size and distance to scale) I How many spacecraft does NASA have around the Moon right now? A. One B. Two C. Four D. Five Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter –NASA In orbit since 2009 Joint Human Exploration/Science mission Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory GRAIL– NASA In orbit since Dec 31st/Jan 1st Detailed gravity map Acceleration, Reconnection, Turbulence and Electrodynamics of the Moon’s Interaction with the Sun (ARTEMIS) –NASA Moved from previous orbit to Moon in 2011 Extended mission for 2 of the 5 THEMIS spacecrafts Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter –NASA In orbit since 2009 Joint Human Exploration/Science mission Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory GRAIL– NASA In orbit since Dec 31st/Jan 1st Detailed gravity map Acceleration, Reconnection, Turbulence and Electrodynamics of the Moon’s Interaction with the Sun (ARTEMIS) –NASA Moved from previous orbit to Moon in 2011 Extended mission for 2 of the 5 THEMIS spacecrafts Which spacecraft first found water on the Moon? A. Apollo B. Lunar Prospector C. LCROSS D. Chandrayaan‐1 Water Water Everywhere… • 2009 Polar Permanently Shadowed Region – LCROSS • 2009: Widespread Surficial – M3 on Chandrayaan‐1 – Cassini – Deep Impact • 2008: Lunar Interior – Laboratory work on lunar samples Water at the Poles The Lunar Prospector mission (1998) gave us preliminary evidence for enhanced hydrogen at the poles Water at the Poles Robinson et al Water at the Poles Colaprete et al Water at the Poles (CH4, CO2, SO2, NH3) Colaprete et al Widespread Surficial Water As seen by M3 instrument on India’s Chandrayaan‐1 R 2‐μm absorption (largely pyroxene) G Brightness B 3‐μm absorption (OH/H2O) Widespread Surficial Water Pieters et al Widespread Surficial Water 5. The upper few regolith grains are desiccated, but OH/H2O – bearing minerals are present just below the dry zone. Pieters et al A few mono‐layers of OH/H2O molecules are formed across the uppermost surface that has access to the solar wind. Lunar Interior Water • High precision ion probe measurements of volcanic “green glass” (Saul et al, 2008) • The ancient lunar mantle contained significant abundances of indigenous water • Recent results with other minerals also find similar levels of water (e.g. Liu et al, 2010) Core Rim Lunar interior Water • Throws a wrench in the “giant impact hypothesis” of lunar formation *Great example of why sample return is so important (the gifts that keep on giving) LRO results LRO LROC WAC imagery LRO LOLA topography Apollo 12 Landing Site Apollo 12 Landing Site To see more, go to the LROC home page: lroc.sese.asu.edu/ To participate in the Citizen Science Project: www.moonzoo.org/ Lunar Gravity Before GRAIL After 1 month of GRAIL Say a fond farewell to Ebb and Flow, as today marks the end of their mission. Lunar Atmosphere and Environment Explorer –NASA Launch in Aug 2013 (from Wallops Island, VA) Will characterize exosphere and dust environment I am the Program Scientist for this mission Other potential upcoming lunar missions: Chang’e 3 (China) Google Lunar X‐Prize (Commercial) Lunar Glob (Russia/India) Selene 2 (Japan) Questions? Mars Odyssey –NASA Mars Express –ESA In orbit since 2001 In orbit since 2003 Longest lived Mars orbiter Mars Exploration Rovers –NASA Roving since 2004 1st Mercury orbiter Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) –NASA In orbit since 2006 Main communication link with MSL Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) –NASA Roving since August 2012 Most sophisticated rover ever launched Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Image (“crime scene” photo) NASA/JPL‐Caltech/MSSS Mastcam image of Mount Sharp’s layers, canyons, and buttes This boulder is the size of Curiosity NASA/JPL‐Caltech/MSSS Mastcam image of Mount Sharp’s layers, canyons, and buttes Also finding other applications in fields such as art restoration and archeology! Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) –NASA Will launch in late 2013 Will study Mars’ atmosphere and climate history Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight) –NASA Will launch in 2016 Will study Mars’ interior Dawn –NASA Just left Vesta, arrives at Ceres in 2015 1st spacecraft to orbit 2 different bodies! What is the nomenclature scheme for craters on Vesta? A. Roman festivals B. Vestal virgins C. Mythological and legendary names of an erotic nature D. Spas of the world Mineralogical and chemical variations across Vesta’s surface OSIRIS‐REx – NASA Will launch in 2016 1st US sample return from an asteroid Juno –NASA On the way, arrives in 2016 Measure atm, magnetosphere, gravity Cassini‐Huygens – NASA/ESA In orbit since 2004 Has revolutionized our understanding of Saturn, its rings, and moons This image of Saturn’s aurora was taken by the visual and infrared mapping spectrometer instrument (VIMS) on Cassini Image: Ron Miller No missions currently at or planned for the ice giant planets. The last time they were visited was Voyager 2, which flew by in 1986 (Uranus) and 1989 (Neptune). But we are still studying them with telescopes! Voyager 2 image Voyager 2 image Hubble image Keck Observatory Keck Observatory Voyager 2 image Hubble observations New Horizons –NASA On its way, flyby in 2015 (launched 2006) Characterize the global geology, chemistry, and morphology of Pluto and Charon and the other moons Is Pluto A Planet? ✔ Yes ✖ No Why or why not? In my day, the working definition of planet was a body which orbits the Sun and is at least 1000 km in diameter (Pluto is 2322 km, Ceres is 950 km) In my day, the working definition of planet was a body which orbits the Sun and is at least 1000 km in diameter (Pluto is 2322 km, Ceres is 950 km) But then we started finding other trans‐Neptunian objects, most notably, Eris in 2005, which is slightly bigger than Pluto The definition of planet set in 2006 by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) states that, in the Solar System, aplanetis a celestial body which: • Is in orbit around the Sun • Has sufficient mass to assume hydrostatic equilibrium (a nearly round shape) • Has "cleared the neighborhood" around its orbit The Kepler Field of View exoplanets.org The Kepler Field of View exoplanets.org Image Credit: XKCD Image Credit: XKCD Questions? *If you think of questions later, you can find me on twitter: @Intrplnetsarah Thanks to today’s presenter! Sarah Noble Research Scientist NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD Thank you to the sponsor of tonight’s web seminar: This web seminar contains information about programs, products, and services offered by third parties, as well as links to third-party websites. The presence of a listing or such information does not constitute an endorsement by NSTA of a particular company or organization, or its programs, products, or services. National Science Teachers Association Gerry Wheeler, Interim Executive Director Zipporah Miller, Associate Executive Director, Conferences and Programs Al Byers , Ph.D., Assistant Executive Director, e-Learning and Government Partnerships Flavio Mendez, Senior Director, NSTA Learning Center NSTA Web Seminars Brynn Slate, Manager Jeff Layman, Technical Coordinator.