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- Harri, A.-M., et al.
(författare)
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Mars Science Laboratory relative humidity observations: Initial results
- 2014
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Ingår i: Journal of Geophysical Research - Planets. - 2169-9097 .- 2169-9100. ; 119:9, s. 2132-2147
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) made a successful landing at Gale crater early August 2012. MSL has an environmental instrument package called the Rover Environmental Monitoring Station (REMS) as a part of its scientific payload. REMS comprises instrumentation for the observation of atmospheric pressure, temperature of the air, ground temperature, wind speed and direction, relative humidity (REMS-H), and UV measurements. We concentrate on describing the REMS-H measurement performance and initial observations during the first 100 MSL sols as well as constraining the REMS-H results by comparing them with earlier observations and modeling results. The REMS-H device is based on polymeric capacitive humidity sensors developed by Vaisala Inc., and it makes use of transducer electronics section placed in the vicinity of the three humidity sensor heads. The humidity device is mounted on the REMS boom providing ventilation with the ambient atmosphere through a filter protecting the device from airborne dust. The final relative humidity results appear to be convincing and are aligned with earlier indirect observations of the total atmospheric precipitable water content. The water mixing ratio in the atmospheric surface layer appears to vary between 30 and 75 ppm. When assuming uniform mixing, the precipitable water content of the atmosphere is ranging from a few to six precipitable micrometers.
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- Kim, Myung-Hee Y., et al.
(författare)
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Comparison of Martian surface ionizing radiation measurements from MSL-RAD with Badhwar-O'Neill 2011/HZETRN model calculations
- 2014
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Ingår i: Journal of Geophysical Research - Planets. - 2169-9097 .- 2169-9100. ; 119:6, s. 1311-1321
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Dose rate measurements from Mars Science Laboratory-radiation assessment detector (MSL-RAD) for 300 sols on Mars are compared to simulation results using the Badhwar-O'Neill 2011 galactic cosmic ray (GCR) environment model and the high-charge and energy transport (HZETRN) code. For the nuclear interactions of primary GCR through Mars atmosphere and Curiosity rover, the quantum multiple scattering theory of nuclear fragmentation is used. Daily atmospheric pressure is measured at Gale Crater by the MSL Rover Environmental Monitoring Station. Particles impinging on top of the Martian atmosphere reach RAD after traversing varying depths of atmosphere that depend on the slant angles, and the model accounts for shielding of the RAD “E” detector (used for dosimetry) by the rest of the instrument. Simulation of average dose rate is in good agreement with RAD measurements for the first 200 sols and reproduces the observed variation of surface dose rate with changing heliospheric conditions and atmospheric pressure. Model results agree less well between sols 200 and 300 due to subtleties in the changing heliospheric conditions. It also suggests that the average contributions of albedo particles (charge number Z < 3) from Martian regolith comprise about 10% and 42% of the average daily point dose and dose equivalent, respectively. Neutron contributions to tissue-averaged effective doses will be reduced compared to point dose equivalent estimates because a large portion of the neutron point dose is due to low-energy neutrons with energies.
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- Litvak, M.L., et al.
(författare)
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Local variations of bulk hydrogen and chlorine-equivalent neutron absorption content measured at the contact between the Sheepbed and Gillespie Lake units in Yellowknife Bay, Gale Crater, using the DAN instrument onboard Curiosity
- 2014
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Ingår i: Journal of Geophysical Research - Planets. - 2169-9097 .- 2169-9100. ; 119:6, s. 1259-1275
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Data gathered with the Dynamic Albedo of Neutron (DAN) instrument onboard rover Curiosity were analyzed for variations in subsurface neutron flux and tested for possible correlation with local geological context. A special DAN observation campaign was executed, in which 18 adjacent DAN active measurements were acquired every 0.75–1.0 m to search for the variations of subsurface hydrogen content along a 15 m traverse across geologic contacts between the Sheepbed and Gillespie Lake members of the Yellowknife Bay formation. It was found that several subunits in Sheepbed and Gillespie Lake could be characterized with different depth distributions of water-equivalent hydrogen (WEH) and different chlorine-equivalent abundance responsible for the distribution of neutron absorption elements. The variations of the average WEH at the top 60 cm of the subsurface are estimated at up to 2–3%. Chlorine-equivalent neutron absorption abundances ranged within 0.8–1.5%. The largest difference in WEH and chlorine-equivalent neutron absorption distribution is found between Sheepbed and Gillespie Lake.
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- Lue, Charles, et al.
(författare)
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Chandrayaan-1 observations of backscattered solar wind protons from the lunar regolith : Dependence on the solar wind speed
- 2014
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Ingår i: Journal of Geophysical Research - Planets. - 2169-9097 .- 2169-9100. ; 119:5, s. 968-975
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We study the backscattering of solar wind protons from the lunar regolith using the Solar Wind Monitor of the Sub-keV Atom Reflecting Analyzer on Chandrayaan-1. Our study focuses on the component of the backscattered particles that leaves the regolith with a positive charge. We find that the fraction of the incident solar wind protons that backscatter as protons, i.e., the proton-backscattering efficiency, has an exponential dependence on the solar wind speed that varies from similar to 0.01% to similar to 1% for solar wind speeds of 250km/s to 550km/s. We also study the speed distribution of the backscattered protons in the fast (similar to 550km/s) solar wind case and find both a peak speed at similar to 80% of the solar wind speed and a spread of similar to 85km/s. The observed flux variations and speed distribution of the backscattered protons can be explained by a speed-dependent charge state of the backscattered particles.
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- Listowski, C., et al.
(författare)
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Near-pure vapor condensation in the Martian atmosphere : CO2 ice crystal growth
- 2013
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Ingår i: Journal of geophysical research - planets. - : American Geophysical Union (AGU). - 2169-9097. ; 118:10, s. 2153-2171
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A new approach is presented to model the condensational growth of carbon dioxide (CO2) ice crystals on Mars. These condensates form in very particular conditions. First, approximate to 95% of the atmosphere is composed of CO2 so that near-pure vapor condensation takes place. Second, the atmosphere is rarefied, having dramatic consequences on the crystal growth. Indeed, the subsequently reduced efficiency of heat transport helps maintain a high temperature difference between the crystal surface and the environment, inhibiting the growth. Besides, the Stefan flow which would have been expected to increase the growth rate of the crystal, because of the near-pure vapor condensation, is negligible. We show that the heritage of the convenient and explicit linearized crystal growth rate formula used for Earth clouds, initially derived for a trace gas, has to be reconsidered in the case of near-pure vapor condensation for high saturation ratios that appear to be common in the Martian mesosphere. Nevertheless, by comparing our approach with a more complex condensation model, valid for all atmospheric conditions and all vapor abundances, we show that a very simple set of equations can still be used to efficiently reproduce the CO2 ice crystal growth rate. Our model, referred to as the CLASSIC model here, provides similar crystal growth rates than the traditionally used linearized growth rate models at low supersaturations but predicts lower crystal growth rates at high supersaturations. It can thus be used to model the condensational growth of CO2 ice crystals in the mesosphere where high supersaturations are observed.
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