Dawn Comes to Ceres
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Research Article Subsurface Thermal Modeling of Oxia Planum, Landing Site of Exomars 2022
Hindawi Advances in Astronomy Volume 2021, Article ID 9924571, 10 pages https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/9924571 Research Article Subsurface Thermal Modeling of Oxia Planum, Landing Site of ExoMars 2022 M. Formisano ,1 M. C. De Sanctis ,1 C. Federico,1 G. Magni,1 F. Altieri ,1 E. Ammannito ,2 S. De Angelis ,1 M. Ferrari ,1 and A. Frigeri 1 1INAF-IAPS, Via del Fosso del Cavaliere 100, Rome, Italy 2Italian Space Agency (ASI), Rome, Italy Correspondence should be addressed to M. Formisano; [email protected] Received 8 March 2021; Revised 18 May 2021; Accepted 25 June 2021; Published 2 September 2021 Academic Editor: Eriita Jones Copyright © 2021 M. Formisano et al. &is is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Numerical simulations are required to thermophysically characterize Oxia Planum, the landing site of the mission ExoMars 2022. A drilling system is installed on the ExoMars rover, and it will be able to analyze down to 2 meters in the subsurface of Mars. &e spectrometer Ma_MISS (Mars Multispectral Imager for Subsurface, Coradini and Da Pieve, 2001) will investigate the lateral wall of the borehole generated by the drill, providing hyperspectral images. It is not fully clear if water ice can be found in the subsurface at Oxia Planum. However, Ma_MISS has the capability to characterize and map the presence of possible ices, in particular water ice. We performed simulations of the subsurface temperatures by varying the thermal inertia, and we quantified the effects of self-heating. -
The Puzzle of the Missing Large Craters. S
47th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (2016) 1281.pdf CRATERING ON CERES: THE PUZZLE OF THE MISSING LARGE CRATERS. S. Marchi1, D. P. O'Brien2, P. Schenk3, R. Fu4, A. Ermakov5, M. C. De Sanctis6, E. Ammannito7, D. A. Williams8, S. C. Mest2, C. A. Raymond9, C. T. Russell7; 1Southwest Research Institute ([email protected]), Boulder, CO; 2Planetary Science Institute, Tucson, AZ; 3Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston, TX; 4Lamont-Doherty Earth Ob- servatory, Palisades, NY; 5Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA; 6Istituto Nazionale d'Astrofisica, Rome, Italy; 7University of California, Los Angeles, CA; 8Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ; 9JPL, Caltech, Pasadena, CA. Introduction: Data acquired by the Dawn space- hemisphere, although heavily craters terrains are also craft revealed a portrait of Ceres's surface that, in many found at low latitudes. This observation tells us that to- ways, challenges our preconceived expectations. pographic relaxation due to the presence of an ice-rich Ceres is the largest object in the main belt of aster- shell has to be limited. Furthermore, an improved oids. As such, extensive ground-based and Hubble model of topographic relaxation has constrained the Space Telescope observations have provided a wealth fraction of ice to be <30% in the outer shell [9]. of information [e.g. 1,2] Ceres' surface has a very low A second major finding is the lack of larger craters. albedo (~9 %) [2], while the lack of significant absorp- The largest well recognizable craters are 260-280 km tions bands at visible and near-infrared wavelengths in diameter. Although large scale topography relaxes points toward a more pristine composition [e.g., 3,4] if faster than at small scales, the lack of large craters compared to many siblings in the asteroid belt (and no- seems at odds with the presence of heavily cratered ter- tably to the large asteroid Vesta). -
Ahuna Mons on Ceres 29 July 2019
Image: Ahuna Mons on Ceres 29 July 2019 More recently, a study of Dawn data led by ESA research fellow Ottaviano Ruesch and Antonio Genova (Sapienza Università di Roma), published in Nature Geoscience in June, suggests that a briny, muddy 'slurry' exists below Ceres' surface, surging upwards towards and through the crust to create Ahuna Mons. Another recent study, led by Javier Ruiz of Universidad Complutense de Madrid and published in Nature Astronomy in July, also indicates that the dwarf planet has a surprisingly dynamic geology. Ceres was also the focus of an earlier study by Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA ESA's Herschel space observatory, which detected water vapour around the dwarf planet. Published in Nature in 2014, the result provided a strong indication that Ceres has ice on or near its surface. This image, based on observations from NASA's Dawn confirmed Ceres' icy crust via direct Dawn spacecraft, shows the largest mountain on observation in 2016, however, the contribution of the dwarf planet Ceres. the ice deposits to Ceres' exosphere turned out to be much lower than that inferred from the Herschel Dawn was the first mission to orbit an object in the observations. asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, and spent time at both large asteroid Vesta and dwarf planet The perspective view depicted in this image uses Ceres. Ceres is one of just five recognised dwarf enhanced-color combined images taken using blue planets in the Solar System (Pluto being another). (440 nm), green (750 nm), and infrared (960 nm) Dawn entered orbit around this rocky world on 6 filters, with a resolution of 35 m/pixel. -
Digital Opportunity: a Review of Intellectual Property and Growth
Digital Opportunity A Review of Intellectual Property and Growth An Independent Report by Professor Ian Hargreaves May 2011 Contents Page Foreword by Ian Hargreaves 01 Executive Summary 03 Chapter 1 Intellectual Property and Growth 10 Chapter 2 The Evidence Base 16 Chapter 3 The International Context 21 Chapter 4 Copyright Licensing: a Moment of Opportunity 26 Chapter 5 Copyright: Exceptions for the Digital Age 41 Chapter 6 Patents 53 Chapter 7 Designs 64 Chapter 8 Enforcement and Disputes 67 Chapter 9 SMEs and the IP Framework 86 Chapter 10 An Adaptive IP Framework 91 Chapter 11 Impact 97 Annex A Terms of Reference 101 Annex B Stakeholders Met during Review of IP and Growth 102 Annex C Call for Evidence Submissions 105 Annex D List of Supporting Documents 109 Foreword When the Prime Minister commissioned this review in November 2010, he did so in terms which some considered provocative. The Review was needed, the PM said, because of the risk that the current intellectual property framework might not be sufficiently well designed to promote innovation and growth in the UK economy. In the five months we have had to compile the Review, we have sought never to lose sight of David Cameron’s “exam question”. Could it be true that laws designed more than three centuries ago with the express purpose of creating economic incentives for innovation by protecting creators’ rights are today obstructing innovation and economic growth? The short answer is: yes. We have found that the UK’s intellectual property framework, especially with regard to copyright, is falling behind what is needed. -
Educator's Guide
EDUCATOR’S GUIDE ABOUT THE FILM Dear Educator, “ROVING MARS”is an exciting adventure that This movie details the development of Spirit and follows the journey of NASA’s Mars Exploration Opportunity from their assembly through their Rovers through the eyes of scientists and engineers fantastic discoveries, discoveries that have set the at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Steve Squyres, pace for a whole new era of Mars exploration: from the lead science investigator from Cornell University. the search for habitats to the search for past or present Their collective dream of Mars exploration came life… and maybe even to human exploration one day. true when two rovers landed on Mars and began Having lasted many times longer than their original their scientific quest to understand whether Mars plan of 90 Martian days (sols), Spirit and Opportunity ever could have been a habitat for life. have confirmed that water persisted on Mars, and Since the 1960s, when humans began sending the that a Martian habitat for life is a possibility. While first tentative interplanetary probes out into the solar they continue their studies, what lies ahead are system, two-thirds of all missions to Mars have NASA missions that not only “follow the water” on failed. The technical challenges are tremendous: Mars, but also “follow the carbon,” a building block building robots that can withstand the tremendous of life. In the next decade, precision landers and shaking of launch; six months in the deep cold of rovers may even search for evidence of life itself, space; a hurtling descent through the atmosphere either signs of past microbial life in the rock record (going from 10,000 miles per hour to 0 in only six or signs of past or present life where reserves of minutes!); bouncing as high as a three-story building water ice lie beneath the Martian surface today. -
POSTER SESSION I: CERES: MISSION RESULTS from DAWN 6:00 P.M
Lunar and Planetary Science XLVIII (2017) sess312.pdf Tuesday, March 21, 2017 [T312] POSTER SESSION I: CERES: MISSION RESULTS FROM DAWN 6: 00 p.m. Town Center Exhibit Area Russell C. T. Raymond C. A. De Sanctis M. C. Nathues A. Prettyman T. H. et al. POSTER LOCATION #171 Dawn at Ceres: What We Have Learned [#1269] A summary of the major discoveries and their implications at the close of the exploration of Ceres by Dawn. Ermakov A. I. Park R. S. Zuber M. T. Smith D. E. Fu R. R. et al. POSTER LOCATION #172 Regional Analysis of Ceres’ Gravity Anomalies [#1374] Put in geological and geomorphological context, the regional gravity anomalies give clues on the structure and evolution of Ceres’ crust. Nathues A. Platz T. Thangjam G. Hoffmann M. Mengel K. et al. POSTER LOCATION #173 Evolution of Occator Crater on (1) Ceres [#1385] We present recent results on the origin and evolution of the bright spots (Cerealia and Vinalia Faculae) at crater Occator on (1) Ceres. Buczkowski D. L. Scully J. E. C. Schenk P. M. Ruesch O. von der Gathen I. et al. POSTER LOCATION #174 Tectonic Analysis of Fracturing Associated with Occator Crater [#1488] The floor, walls, and ejecta of Occator Crater on Ceres are cut by multiple sets of linear and concentric fractures. We explore possible formation mechanisms. Pasckert J. H. Hiesinger H. Raymond C. A. Russell C. POSTER LOCATION #175 Degradation and Ejecta Mobility of Impact Craters on Ceres [#1377] We investigated the degradation and ejecta mobility of craters on Ceres, to investigate latitudinal variations, and to compare it with other planetary bodies. -
Impact Induced Heating of Occator Crater on Asteroid 1 Ceres
47th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (2016) 2268.pdf IMPACT INDUCED HEATING OF OCCATOR CRATER ON ASTEROID 1 CERES. T. J. Bowling1, F. J. Ciesla1, S. Marchi2, B. C. Johnson3, T. M. Davison4, J. C. Castillo-Rogez5, M. C. De Sanctis6, C. A. Raymond5, and C. T. Russell7. 1University of Chicago, Chicago, IL ([email protected]), 2Southwest Research Institute, Boul- der, CO, 3Brown University, Providence, RI, 4Imperial College, London, UK, 5Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Caltech, Pasadena, CA, 6National Institute of Astrophysics, Rome, IT, 7University of California, Los Angeles, CA. Introduction: Dwarf planet Ceres, the current tar- H2O ice, although the inclusion of impurities may low- get of NASA’s Dawn mission and the inner solar sys- er the melting temperature considerably [16]. In both tem’s last remaining ‘wet protoplanet’, is thought to be simulations, the central peak is composed of material composed of a mixture of silicates and ices [1]. One of uplifted from considerable (15-30 km) pre-impact Ceres’ most intriguing features revealed by the Dawn depth. Because of its provenance, this material may spacecraft is the 92-km diameter crater Occator [2]. have been sheltered from heating and subsequent devo- This crater is expected to be 10s-100s Myr old and latilization from both previous impacts as well as the contains some of the highest albedo features on the Occator forming impact, and subsequently may be asteroid, which are possibly salt deposits [2]. Occa- more volatile rich than average for the crater. During tor’s longitude is also compatible with the putative the subsequent thermal evolution of the crater this un- source region for previously detected H2O outgassing altered, volatile rich material may be heated above the from Ceres [3], and may contain a diurnally periodic melting point of water by the conductive thermal pulse dust haze [2] driven by near surface volatile sublima- from the hot locus at the base of the central peak. -
New Studies Provide Unexpected Insights Into Dwarf Planet Ceres 1 September 2016
New studies provide unexpected insights into dwarf planet Ceres 1 September 2016 Mons. The dome-shaped mountain has an elliptical base and a concave top, as well as other properties that indicate cryovolcanism. The authors applied models to determine the age of Ahuna Mons, finding it to have formed after the craters surrounding it, which suggests that it came into existence relatively recently. There is no evidence for compressional tectonism, nor for erosional features, the authors say; it appears that extrusion is a main driver behind the formation of Ahuna Mons. Although the exact material driving the cryovolcano cannot be determined without further data, the authors propose that chlorine salts, which have been previously detected in a different region of Ceres, could have been present with water ice below Ceres' surface and driven the chemical activity that formed Ahuna Mons. In a second study, Jean-Philippe Combe et al. A high resolution Dawn framing camera image of Ahuna describe the detection of water ice - exposed on the Mons. Image width is 30 km. Credit: NASA/JPL- surface of Ceres. The dwarf planet was known to Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA contain water ice, but water ice is also expected to be unstable on its surface, so scientists were unsure whether it could be detected there. They used the Visible and InfraRed (VIR) mapping Six studies published today in Science highlight spectrometer onboard the Dawn spacecraft to new and unexpected insights into Ceres, a dwarf analyze a highly reflective zone in a young crater planet and the largest object in the asteroid belt called Oxo, on five occasions during 2015. -
Erosion of Volatiles by Micro-Meteoroid Bombardment On
Draft version April 27, 2021 Typeset using LATEX preprint style in AASTeX63 Erosion of volatiles by micro-meteoroid bombardment on Ceres, and comparison to the Moon and Mercury Petr Pokorny´ ,1, 2 Erwan Mazarico ,2 and Norbert Schorghofer 3 1The Catholic University of America, 620 Michigan Ave, NE Washington, DC 20064, USA 2Goddard Space Flight Center, 8800 Greenbelt Rd., Greenbelt, MD, 20771, USA 3Planetary Science Institute, Tucson, AZ 85719, USA (Received December 11, 2020; Revised March 15, 2021; Accepted March 16, 2021) Accepted to PSJ ABSTRACT (1) Ceres, the largest reservoir of water in the main-belt, was recently visited by the Dawn spacecraft that revealed several areas bearing H2O-ice features. Independent tele- scopic observations showed a water exosphere of currently unknown origin. We explore the effects of meteoroid impacts on Ceres considering the topography obtained from the Dawn mission using a widely-used micro-meteoroid model and ray-tracing tech- niques. Meteoroid populations with 0.01-2 mm diameters are considered. We analyze the short-term effects Ceres experiences during its current orbit as well as long-term effects over the entire precession cycle. We find the entire surface is subject to mete- oroid bombardment leaving no areas in permanent shadow with respect to meteoroid influx. The equatorial parts of Ceres produce 80% more ejecta than the polar regions due to the large impact velocity of long-period comets. Mass flux, energy flux, and ejecta production vary seasonally by a factor of 3{7 due to the inclined eccentric orbit. Compared to Mercury and the Moon, Ceres experiences significantly smaller effects of micro-meteoroid bombardment, with a total mass flux of 4:5 ± 1:2 × 10−17 kg m−2 s−1. -
The Eternal Fire of Vesta
2016 Ian McElroy All Rights Reserved THE ETERNAL FIRE OF VESTA Roman Cultural Identity and the Legitimacy of Augustus By Ian McElroy A thesis submitted to the Graduate School-New Brunswick Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey In partial fulfillment of the requirements For the degree of Master of Arts Graduate Program in Classics Written under the direction of Dr. Serena Connolly And approved by ___________________________________________ ___________________________________________ ___________________________________________ New Brunswick, New Jersey October 2016 ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS The Eternal Fire of Vesta: Roman Cultural Identity and the Legitimacy of Augustus By Ian McElroy Thesis Director: Dr. Serena Connolly Vesta and the Vestal Virgins represented the very core of Roman cultural identity, and Augustus positioned his public image beside them to augment his political legitimacy. Through analysis of material culture, historiography, and poetry that originated during the principate of Augustus, it becomes clear that each of these sources of evidence contributes to the public image projected by the leader whom Ronald Syme considered to be the first Roman emperor. The Ara Pacis Augustae and the Res Gestae Divi Augustae embody the legacy the Emperor wished to establish, and each of these cultural works contain significant references to the Vestal Virgins. The study of history Livy undertook also emphasized the pathetic plight of Rhea Silvia as she was compelled to become a Vestal. Livy and his contemporary Dionysius of Halicarnassus explored the foundation of the Vestal Order and each writer had his own explanation about how Numa founded it. The Roman poets Virgil, Horace, Ovid, and Tibullus incorporated Vesta and the Vestals into their work in a way that offers further proof of the way Augustus insinuated himself into the fabric of Roman cultural identity by associating his public image with these honored priestesses. -
March 21–25, 2016
FORTY-SEVENTH LUNAR AND PLANETARY SCIENCE CONFERENCE PROGRAM OF TECHNICAL SESSIONS MARCH 21–25, 2016 The Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel and Convention Center The Woodlands, Texas INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT Universities Space Research Association Lunar and Planetary Institute National Aeronautics and Space Administration CONFERENCE CO-CHAIRS Stephen Mackwell, Lunar and Planetary Institute Eileen Stansbery, NASA Johnson Space Center PROGRAM COMMITTEE CHAIRS David Draper, NASA Johnson Space Center Walter Kiefer, Lunar and Planetary Institute PROGRAM COMMITTEE P. Doug Archer, NASA Johnson Space Center Nicolas LeCorvec, Lunar and Planetary Institute Katherine Bermingham, University of Maryland Yo Matsubara, Smithsonian Institute Janice Bishop, SETI and NASA Ames Research Center Francis McCubbin, NASA Johnson Space Center Jeremy Boyce, University of California, Los Angeles Andrew Needham, Carnegie Institution of Washington Lisa Danielson, NASA Johnson Space Center Lan-Anh Nguyen, NASA Johnson Space Center Deepak Dhingra, University of Idaho Paul Niles, NASA Johnson Space Center Stephen Elardo, Carnegie Institution of Washington Dorothy Oehler, NASA Johnson Space Center Marc Fries, NASA Johnson Space Center D. Alex Patthoff, Jet Propulsion Laboratory Cyrena Goodrich, Lunar and Planetary Institute Elizabeth Rampe, Aerodyne Industries, Jacobs JETS at John Gruener, NASA Johnson Space Center NASA Johnson Space Center Justin Hagerty, U.S. Geological Survey Carol Raymond, Jet Propulsion Laboratory Lindsay Hays, Jet Propulsion Laboratory Paul Schenk, -
Oxo Crater on (1) Ceres: Geological History and the Role of Water-Ice
The Astronomical Journal, 154:84 (13pp), 2017 September https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/aa7a04 © 2017. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved. Oxo Crater on (1) Ceres: Geological History and the Role of Water-ice A. Nathues1, T. Platz1, M. Hoffmann1, G. Thangjam1, E. A. Cloutis2, D. M. Applin2, L. Le Corre1,3, V. Reddy1,4, K. Mengel5, S. Protopapa6, D. Takir7, F. Preusker8, B. E. Schmidt9, and C. T. Russell10 1 Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, Justus-von-Liebig-Weg 3, D-37077 Goettingen, Germany; [email protected] 2 University of Winnipeg, Winnipeg, MB R3B 2E9, Canada 3 Planetary Science Institute, 1700 East Fort Lowell Rd, Suite 106, Tucson, AZ 85719-2395, USA 4 Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA 5 IELF, TU Clausthal, Adolph-Roemer-Straße 2A, D-38678 Clausthal-Zellerfeld, Germany 6 University of Maryland, Department of Astronomy, College Park, MD 20742, USA 7 SETI Institute, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA 8 German Aerospace Center (DLR), Institute of Planetary Research, D-12489 Berlin, Germany 9 Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA 10 Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, Dept. of Earth, Planetary and Space Sciences, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA Received 2017 March 1; revised 2017 June 14; accepted 2017 June 14; published 2017 August 4 Abstract Dwarf planet Ceres (∅∼940 km) is the largest object in the main asteroid belt. Investigations suggest that Ceres is a thermally evolved, volatile-rich body with potential geological activity, a body that was never completely molten, but one that possibly partially differentiated into a rocky core and an ice-rich mantle, and may contain remnant internal liquid water.