Pub Date : 2025-10-15Epub Date: 2025-07-16DOI: 10.1016/j.pss.2025.106177
Yuta Suzuki , Seiya Tanaka , Takuya Goto
To establish the electrochemical reduction process of lunar regolith as an in-situ resource utilization technology on the Moon, it is crucial to prepare a high-temperature electrolytic melt that has a composition suitable for electrolysis. In this study, we propose a mixed melt consisting of lunar regolith, which comprises metal-oxide compounds, and CaF2, which can be collected from fluorapatite on the Moon's surface. To characterize the lunar regolith-CaF2 system, the thermal and electrochemical properties of a mixture of a lunar mare regolith simulant (FJS-1) and CaF2 were investigated. The differential thermal analysis curves measured for various compositions of FJS-1 and CaF2 found that the eutectic temperature was 1275 K at FJS-1:CaF2 = 90:10 wt%, which is lower than the melting point of FJS-1, 1393 K. By electrochemical impedance spectroscopic technique, the electrical resistance of the melts at 1673 K was found to be 43 Ω for the FJS-1 melt, while the mixed melt of FJS-1 and CaF2 (80:20 wt%) was found to be 5 Ω. The XRD analysis of the solidified melts revealed that the mixed melts' unique physical properties were due to the formation of chemical bonding of F− ions due to CaF2 and metal ions due to FJS-1. Furthermore, the electrochemical behavior of the mixed melt was investigated, demonstrating the electrodeposition of metals such as Si and Al derived from FJS-1. The reported data will provide new guidelines for designing electrolytic systems on the Moon, expanding the possibilities for controlling the temperature and electrochemical operations.
{"title":"Thermal and electrochemical properties of a mixture of lunar regolith simulant (FJS-1) and CaF2","authors":"Yuta Suzuki , Seiya Tanaka , Takuya Goto","doi":"10.1016/j.pss.2025.106177","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.pss.2025.106177","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>To establish the electrochemical reduction process of lunar regolith as an in-situ resource utilization technology on the Moon, it is crucial to prepare a high-temperature electrolytic melt that has a composition suitable for electrolysis. In this study, we propose a mixed melt consisting of lunar regolith, which comprises metal-oxide compounds, and CaF<sub>2</sub>, which can be collected from fluorapatite on the Moon's surface. To characterize the lunar regolith-CaF<sub>2</sub> system, the thermal and electrochemical properties of a mixture of a lunar mare regolith simulant (FJS-1) and CaF<sub>2</sub> were investigated. The differential thermal analysis curves measured for various compositions of FJS-1 and CaF<sub>2</sub> found that the eutectic temperature was 1275 K at FJS-1:CaF<sub>2</sub> = 90:10 wt%, which is lower than the melting point of FJS-1, 1393 K. By electrochemical impedance spectroscopic technique, the electrical resistance of the melts at 1673 K was found to be 43 Ω for the FJS-1 melt, while the mixed melt of FJS-1 and CaF<sub>2</sub> (80:20 wt%) was found to be 5 Ω. The XRD analysis of the solidified melts revealed that the mixed melts' unique physical properties were due to the formation of chemical bonding of F<sup>−</sup> ions due to CaF<sub>2</sub> and metal ions due to FJS-1. Furthermore, the electrochemical behavior of the mixed melt was investigated, demonstrating the electrodeposition of metals such as Si and Al derived from FJS-1. The reported data will provide new guidelines for designing electrolytic systems on the Moon, expanding the possibilities for controlling the temperature and electrochemical operations.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20054,"journal":{"name":"Planetary and Space Science","volume":"266 ","pages":"Article 106177"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-10-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144656459","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-10-15Epub Date: 2025-07-18DOI: 10.1016/j.pss.2025.106168
G. Madeira , L. Esteves , T.F.L.L. Pinheiro , P.V.S. Soares , N.S. Santos , B. Morgado
Single massive satellites are of great observational interest, as they can produce prominent and potentially detectable signatures. For terrestrial planets and super-Earths, giant impacts in the late stages of formation may generate dense self-gravitating disks — favourable environments for the formation of such satellites. Motivated by this, we explore satellite formation in dense solid-particle disks through three-dimensional N-body simulations, focusing on the effects of disk mass and the surface density exponent (). Our results reveal significant variability in the masses and configurations of satellites formed under identical disk parameters, highlighting the stochastic nature of the process. Higher disk masses and flatter surface density profiles favour the formation of more massive satellites. Disks with masses above 0.03 planetary masses typically yield a single dominant satellite, while those between 0.003 and 0.03 tend to form two-satellite systems. On average, the mass of the largest satellite scales linearly with the initial disk mass, in agreement with analytical predictions. We estimate that a disk with a minimal mass of 0.03 planetary masses around a 1.6 Earth-mass planet orbiting a Sun-like star could form an Earth–Moon-like system detectable by telescopes with a photometric precision of 10 parts per million – a level achievable by the James Webb Space Telescope.
{"title":"On the formation of satellites in dense solid-particle disks","authors":"G. Madeira , L. Esteves , T.F.L.L. Pinheiro , P.V.S. Soares , N.S. Santos , B. Morgado","doi":"10.1016/j.pss.2025.106168","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.pss.2025.106168","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Single massive satellites are of great observational interest, as they can produce prominent and potentially detectable signatures. For terrestrial planets and super-Earths, giant impacts in the late stages of formation may generate dense self-gravitating disks — favourable environments for the formation of such satellites. Motivated by this, we explore satellite formation in dense solid-particle disks through three-dimensional N-body simulations, focusing on the effects of disk mass and the surface density exponent (<span><math><mi>β</mi></math></span>). Our results reveal significant variability in the masses and configurations of satellites formed under identical disk parameters, highlighting the stochastic nature of the process. Higher disk masses and flatter surface density profiles favour the formation of more massive satellites. Disks with masses above 0.03 planetary masses typically yield a single dominant satellite, while those between 0.003 and 0.03 tend to form two-satellite systems. On average, the mass of the largest satellite scales linearly with the initial disk mass, in agreement with analytical predictions. We estimate that a disk with a minimal mass of 0.03 planetary masses around a 1.6 Earth-mass planet orbiting a Sun-like star could form an Earth–Moon-like system detectable by telescopes with a photometric precision of 10 parts per million – a level achievable by the James Webb Space Telescope.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20054,"journal":{"name":"Planetary and Space Science","volume":"266 ","pages":"Article 106168"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-10-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144665815","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-10-15Epub Date: 2025-06-30DOI: 10.1016/j.pss.2025.106154
Alice Dottori , Ivan Troisi , Michèle Roberta Lavagna
The solid-gas carbothermal reduction is one of the processes available for extracting oxygen from the lunar regolith, a crucial capability for supporting lunar exploration and establishing a sustainable human presence on the Moon’s surface. This article presents the findings of the experimental campaign conducted at the Politecnico di Milano, which confirmed the feasibility of the process. Water is extracted from dry regolith, and the production of carbon oxides is monitored to gather data on the process. The campaign studied the influence of various parameters to enhance water and oxygen production, including reaction temperatures, regolith granularity and mass, solid-to-gas ratio, processing duration, and others. The extracted water is collected in a condensation stage, while the evolution of the gaseous mixture is monitored using gas chromatography, and the exhaust batch of simulant is analysed through SEM and XRD. These analyses provided qualitative and quantitative assessments of the reaction’s effectiveness, yielding important information about the impact of changing parameters. The study concludes by proposing a set of process parameters to serve as a baseline for future implementation of the low-temperature carbothermal process on the lunar surface.
{"title":"Demonstration of the low-temperature carbothermal process for producing oxygen from lunar regolith: Terrestrial test campaign","authors":"Alice Dottori , Ivan Troisi , Michèle Roberta Lavagna","doi":"10.1016/j.pss.2025.106154","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.pss.2025.106154","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The solid-gas carbothermal reduction is one of the processes available for extracting oxygen from the lunar regolith, a crucial capability for supporting lunar exploration and establishing a sustainable human presence on the Moon’s surface. This article presents the findings of the experimental campaign conducted at the Politecnico di Milano, which confirmed the feasibility of the process. Water is extracted from dry regolith, and the production of carbon oxides is monitored to gather data on the process. The campaign studied the influence of various parameters to enhance water and oxygen production, including reaction temperatures, regolith granularity and mass, solid-to-gas ratio, processing duration, and others. The extracted water is collected in a condensation stage, while the evolution of the gaseous mixture is monitored using gas chromatography, and the exhaust batch of simulant is analysed through SEM and XRD. These analyses provided qualitative and quantitative assessments of the reaction’s effectiveness, yielding important information about the impact of changing parameters. The study concludes by proposing a set of process parameters to serve as a baseline for future implementation of the low-temperature carbothermal process on the lunar surface.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20054,"journal":{"name":"Planetary and Space Science","volume":"266 ","pages":"Article 106154"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-10-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144631754","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-10-15Epub Date: 2025-07-23DOI: 10.1016/j.pss.2025.106167
Debashis Chatterjee , Prithwish Ghosh
This study demonstrates the critical need for circular data analysis in interpreting meteor impact locations on Venus. Traditional linear methods need to be improved to capture the cyclic nature of these data. We can better identify patterns and trends using specialized circular data techniques, enhancing our understanding of the mechanisms behind meteor impacts. By employing specialized statistical techniques that capture the cyclic nature of angular data, our analysis included Watson’s test at a 0.05 significance level, showing that the Venus surface crater dataset’s location parameters and solar elevations conform to a Von Mises distribution, while daytime and nighttime solar elevations do not. Using Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC) scores, we also determine that a two-component mixture of Fisher–von Mises distributions best models the spatial distribution of impact craters. These findings enhance our understanding of meteor impact processes on Venus and highlight the advantages of applying maximum-entropy directional models to planetary science.
{"title":"On the directional nature of the fall of celestial objects on the surface of Venus","authors":"Debashis Chatterjee , Prithwish Ghosh","doi":"10.1016/j.pss.2025.106167","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.pss.2025.106167","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study demonstrates the critical need for circular data analysis in interpreting meteor impact locations on Venus. Traditional linear methods need to be improved to capture the cyclic nature of these data. We can better identify patterns and trends using specialized circular data techniques, enhancing our understanding of the mechanisms behind meteor impacts. By employing specialized statistical techniques that capture the cyclic nature of angular data, our analysis included Watson’s test at a 0.05 significance level, showing that the Venus surface crater dataset’s location parameters and solar elevations conform to a Von Mises distribution, while daytime and nighttime solar elevations do not. Using Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC) scores, we also determine that a two-component mixture of Fisher–von Mises distributions best models the spatial distribution of impact craters. These findings enhance our understanding of meteor impact processes on Venus and highlight the advantages of applying maximum-entropy directional models to planetary science.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20054,"journal":{"name":"Planetary and Space Science","volume":"266 ","pages":"Article 106167"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2025-10-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144767142","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-10-15Epub Date: 2025-07-19DOI: 10.1016/j.pss.2025.106179
Grace Richards , Richárd Rácz , Sándor T.S. Kovács , Victoria Pearson , Geraint Morgan , Manish R. Patel , Simon Sheridan , Duncan V. Mifsud , Béla Sulik , Sándor Biri , Nigel J. Mason , Robert W. McCullough , Zoltán Juhász
Saturn's magnetosphere contains trapped plasma and energetic charged particles which constantly irradiate the surface of Enceladus. In this study, we exposed Enceladean surface ice analogues containing H2O, CO2, CH4, and NH3 to water-group ions (e.g., O+, O3+, OH+, and H2O+) having energies between 10 and 45 keV with the aim of exploring the chemical evolution of these ices and characterising the extent to which the surface material on Enceladus is weathered by Saturn's radiation environment. Each irradiation process was monitored in situ using Fourier-transform mid-infrared transmission absorption spectroscopy, and post-irradiative warming of the ices was performed to better characterise complex organic molecules formed as a result of the mobilisation of radiolytically generated radicals. Irradiation resulted in the formation of CO, OCN−, and NH4+ in all experiments, and the radiolytic formation of formamide, acetylene, acetaldehyde, and hydroxymethyl radicals was also tentatively suggested in most experiments. Post-irradiative warming of the ices resulted in the formation of carbamic acid, ammonium carbamate, and an alcohol species. Although many of these products have not been previously observed on Enceladus' surface, some have been detected in Enceladus' plumes. Since our results demonstrate that the radiolytic formation of these molecules can occur over timescales similar to the exposure times of plume and surface material to magnetospheric radiation, questions must be raised as to whether such material originates directly from the subsurface ocean or is instead formed within the radiation-rich space environment.
{"title":"Water-group ion irradiation studies of Enceladus ice analogues: Can radiolysis account for material in and around the south polar plume?","authors":"Grace Richards , Richárd Rácz , Sándor T.S. Kovács , Victoria Pearson , Geraint Morgan , Manish R. Patel , Simon Sheridan , Duncan V. Mifsud , Béla Sulik , Sándor Biri , Nigel J. Mason , Robert W. McCullough , Zoltán Juhász","doi":"10.1016/j.pss.2025.106179","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.pss.2025.106179","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Saturn's magnetosphere contains trapped plasma and energetic charged particles which constantly irradiate the surface of Enceladus. In this study, we exposed Enceladean surface ice analogues containing H<sub>2</sub>O, CO<sub>2</sub>, CH<sub>4</sub>, and NH<sub>3</sub> to water-group ions (e.g., O<sup>+</sup>, O<sup>3+</sup>, OH<sup>+</sup>, and H<sub>2</sub>O<sup>+</sup>) having energies between 10 and 45 keV with the aim of exploring the chemical evolution of these ices and characterising the extent to which the surface material on Enceladus is weathered by Saturn's radiation environment. Each irradiation process was monitored <em>in situ</em> using Fourier-transform mid-infrared transmission absorption spectroscopy, and post-irradiative warming of the ices was performed to better characterise complex organic molecules formed as a result of the mobilisation of radiolytically generated radicals. Irradiation resulted in the formation of CO, OCN<sup>−</sup>, and NH<sub>4</sub><sup>+</sup> in all experiments, and the radiolytic formation of formamide, acetylene, acetaldehyde, and hydroxymethyl radicals was also tentatively suggested in most experiments. Post-irradiative warming of the ices resulted in the formation of carbamic acid, ammonium carbamate, and an alcohol species. Although many of these products have not been previously observed on Enceladus' surface, some have been detected in Enceladus' plumes. Since our results demonstrate that the radiolytic formation of these molecules can occur over timescales similar to the exposure times of plume and surface material to magnetospheric radiation, questions must be raised as to whether such material originates directly from the subsurface ocean or is instead formed within the radiation-rich space environment.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20054,"journal":{"name":"Planetary and Space Science","volume":"266 ","pages":"Article 106179"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2025-10-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144722323","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-10-15Epub Date: 2025-07-22DOI: 10.1016/j.pss.2025.106180
Jayanta Kumar Pati , Anuj Kumar Singh , Shivanshu Dwivedi
Bolide impacts are associated with enormous amount of kinetic energy which transforms into humongous shock pressures (∼100 GPa) and temperatures (up to 20,000 °C) on the planetary surfaces. These extreme conditions result in unique shock features that are routinely used as diagnostic evidence to confirm the meteorite impact origin of a structure. Occurrence of diaplectic glass pseudomorphing various minerals is one of the unequivocal evidences of shock metamorphism. Similarly, complete rock melting requires pressure in the excess of 60 GPa; however, the melting processes are not well constrained and remain ambiguous. The present study focuses on shock-induced melting of a quartzo-feldspathic lithic clast within an impact melt breccia sample from the Dhala structure, India. Multiple felsic melt stringers and a silicic melt (similar to lechatelierite) lense were observed across the clast, displaying a linear mixing trend between K-feldspar and silica. The occurrences of planar deformation features in quartz, melt clasts, spherules, and traces of coesite indicate characteristics of shock metamorphism. The presence of coesite (a high-pressure silica polymorph), formed during shock pressure release from the silica melt, was verified through Raman spectroscopy. Compositions of felsic melt stringers seem to mimic eutectic melting similar to a synthetic K2O-Al2O3-SiO2 system suggesting the dominant role of eutectic type punctuated melting rather than instantaneous melt behaviour. This pattern contrasts with an immediate, widespread melting often reported in impactites worldwide.
{"title":"A shocked lithic clast with compositionally contrasting melt domains in the impact melt breccia-a first report from the Dhala impact structure, India","authors":"Jayanta Kumar Pati , Anuj Kumar Singh , Shivanshu Dwivedi","doi":"10.1016/j.pss.2025.106180","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.pss.2025.106180","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Bolide impacts are associated with enormous amount of kinetic energy which transforms into humongous shock pressures (∼100 GPa) and temperatures (up to 20,000 °C) on the planetary surfaces. These extreme conditions result in unique shock features that are routinely used as diagnostic evidence to confirm the meteorite impact origin of a structure. Occurrence of diaplectic glass pseudomorphing various minerals is one of the unequivocal evidences of shock metamorphism. Similarly, complete rock melting requires pressure in the excess of 60 GPa; however, the melting processes are not well constrained and remain ambiguous. The present study focuses on shock-induced melting of a quartzo-feldspathic lithic clast within an impact melt breccia sample from the Dhala structure, India. Multiple felsic melt stringers and a silicic melt (similar to lechatelierite) lense were observed across the clast, displaying a linear mixing trend between K-feldspar and silica. The occurrences of planar deformation features in quartz, melt clasts, spherules, and traces of coesite indicate characteristics of shock metamorphism. The presence of coesite (a high-pressure silica polymorph), formed during shock pressure release from the silica melt, was verified through Raman spectroscopy. Compositions of felsic melt stringers seem to mimic eutectic melting similar to a synthetic K<sub>2</sub>O-Al<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub>-SiO<sub>2</sub> system suggesting the dominant role of eutectic type punctuated melting rather than instantaneous melt behaviour. This pattern contrasts with an immediate, widespread melting often reported in impactites worldwide.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20054,"journal":{"name":"Planetary and Space Science","volume":"266 ","pages":"Article 106180"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2025-10-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144771267","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-10-15Epub Date: 2025-07-17DOI: 10.1016/j.pss.2025.106166
Nicole Latsia , Georgios Tsirvoulis , Erika Kaufmann , David Haack , Mikael Granvik , Axel Hagermann
The surface of Mercury is exposed to extreme diurnal thermal variations caused by the high intensity of solar radiation, the radiative loss due to the planet’s lack of atmosphere, its eccentricity and its 3:2 spin - orbit resonance. This work presents an experimental study on terrestrial rocks used as Mercury analogues subjected to hermean conditions. We simulate the power density of a planetary surface at Mercury’s perihelion distance of 0.31 au using the Space and High-Irradiance Near-Sun Simulator (SHINeS) at Luleå University of Technology. The reflectance spectra were acquired in the visible and near-infrared wavelength range for every sample before and after irradiation. Permanent spectral changes are observed in all samples towards the longer wavelengths in the visible spectrum after only one thermal cycle. Darkening is evident in both the visible and near-infrared spectrum ranges, combined with reddening in the visible-to-near-infrared region in most of our samples. We propose that darker samples like boninite, basalt, and diorite are more likely to experience spectral changes due to their low albedo.
{"title":"Experimental investigation of solar radiation effects on Mercury’s surface regolith","authors":"Nicole Latsia , Georgios Tsirvoulis , Erika Kaufmann , David Haack , Mikael Granvik , Axel Hagermann","doi":"10.1016/j.pss.2025.106166","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.pss.2025.106166","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The surface of Mercury is exposed to extreme diurnal thermal variations caused by the high intensity of solar radiation, the radiative loss due to the planet’s lack of atmosphere, its eccentricity and its 3:2 spin - orbit resonance. This work presents an experimental study on terrestrial rocks used as Mercury analogues subjected to hermean conditions. We simulate the power density of a planetary surface at Mercury’s perihelion distance of 0.31 au using the Space and High-Irradiance Near-Sun Simulator (SHINeS) at Luleå University of Technology. The reflectance spectra were acquired in the visible and near-infrared wavelength range for every sample before and after irradiation. Permanent spectral changes are observed in all samples towards the longer wavelengths in the visible spectrum after only one thermal cycle. Darkening is evident in both the visible and near-infrared spectrum ranges, combined with reddening in the visible-to-near-infrared region in most of our samples. We propose that darker samples like boninite, basalt, and diorite are more likely to experience spectral changes due to their low albedo.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20054,"journal":{"name":"Planetary and Space Science","volume":"266 ","pages":"Article 106166"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-10-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144663289","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-10-01Epub Date: 2025-06-30DOI: 10.1016/j.pss.2025.106153
Thomas Gallot, Camila Sedofeito, Alejandro Ginares, Gonzalo Tancredi
Observational data support the view of asteroids as granular systems. Characterizing their mechanical properties is crucial for space mission planning, assessing Earth’s impact risks, and understanding solar system origins. In this context, we present a laboratory-scale experiment aimed at examining wave propagation in granular media. Our findings demonstrate that the propagation of observed waves at 500 Hz shows significant attenuation with an estimated value of Np/m. Additionally, we observe an increase in wave speed with confining pressure, which follows a dependency on , interpreted as mesoscopic nonlinear elasticity. This indicates that a confined granular medium behaves as a nonlinear consolidated medium. Furthermore, we establish the equivalence of propagation properties between impact and vibration by supporting our experimental data analysis with numerical simulations. Applying our findings to model wave propagation in a low-gravity setting involving Dimorphos’ mass and geometry, our laboratory-based approach offers a cost-effective alternative to in situ measurements.
{"title":"Seismic wave experiments in granular media with applications to asteroids","authors":"Thomas Gallot, Camila Sedofeito, Alejandro Ginares, Gonzalo Tancredi","doi":"10.1016/j.pss.2025.106153","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.pss.2025.106153","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Observational data support the view of asteroids as granular systems. Characterizing their mechanical properties is crucial for space mission planning, assessing Earth’s impact risks, and understanding solar system origins. In this context, we present a laboratory-scale experiment aimed at examining wave propagation in granular media. Our findings demonstrate that the propagation of observed waves at 500 Hz shows significant attenuation with an estimated value of <span><math><mrow><mi>α</mi><mo>=</mo><mrow><mo>(</mo><mn>1</mn><mo>.</mo><mn>8</mn><mo>±</mo><mn>0</mn><mo>.</mo><mn>2</mn><mo>)</mo></mrow></mrow></math></span> Np/m. Additionally, we observe an increase in wave speed with confining pressure, which follows a dependency on <span><math><msup><mrow><mi>p</mi></mrow><mrow><mn>1</mn><mo>/</mo><mn>2</mn></mrow></msup></math></span>, interpreted as mesoscopic nonlinear elasticity. This indicates that a confined granular medium behaves as a nonlinear consolidated medium. Furthermore, we establish the equivalence of propagation properties between impact and vibration by supporting our experimental data analysis with numerical simulations. Applying our findings to model wave propagation in a low-gravity setting involving Dimorphos’ mass and geometry, our laboratory-based approach offers a cost-effective alternative to in situ measurements.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20054,"journal":{"name":"Planetary and Space Science","volume":"265 ","pages":"Article 106153"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144570642","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-10-01Epub Date: 2025-07-07DOI: 10.1016/j.pss.2025.106164
Ivano Bertini , Jean–Baptiste Vincent , Raphael Marschall , Fiorangela La Forgia , Alessandra Mura , Laura Inno , Stavro Ivanovski , Michael Küppers , Cecilia Tubiana , Vladimir Zakharov
Comets represent the most preserved planetesimals we can nowadays study and dust is one of their major components. Once emitted in the coma, cometary dust particles represent anisotropic scatterers of the incident solar light and their nature can be investigated with remote sensing studies. Among them, the measurement of the phase function curve has a key importance in several scientific aspects. It can be inverted with theoretical and laboratory studies to derive hints on the intimate nature of the emitted dust. It is also needed in adjusting cometary dust production rates for phase angle effects when data obtained throughout large time intervals are correlated. Finally, it is useful for space instruments planning since it provides inputs for optimal exposure times for remote sensing sensors which observe the coma spanning a large range of phase angles during close approaches. This will be particularly valuable in the framework of the future ESA Comet Interceptor mission which is going to fly-by a Dynamically New Comet entering our Inner Solar System for the very first time, carrying instruments which will image the coma with different observing geometries and phase angles in a short amount of time. In order to provide an useful tool to address the aforementioned scientific topics, we used available literature data to build a new composite phase function for cometary dust comae. This was obtained fitting Henyey–Greenstein functions to the original data of 11 comets and then connecting them in a continuous way as all data values were coming from a single average comet. We then fitted our result with a compound Henyey–Greenstein curve and compared it with previous models which were not including recent literature data constituting fine follow-ups of comets at small and large phase angles. The main difference is found in the description of the forward scattering surge, where our model depicts intensity one order of magnitude larger than previous ones. This finding is extremely important since it shows that the choice of the model may have severe consequences when interpreting, or instrumentally planning, forward scattering data.
{"title":"A composite phase function for cometary dust comae","authors":"Ivano Bertini , Jean–Baptiste Vincent , Raphael Marschall , Fiorangela La Forgia , Alessandra Mura , Laura Inno , Stavro Ivanovski , Michael Küppers , Cecilia Tubiana , Vladimir Zakharov","doi":"10.1016/j.pss.2025.106164","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.pss.2025.106164","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Comets represent the most preserved planetesimals we can nowadays study and dust is one of their major components. Once emitted in the coma, cometary dust particles represent anisotropic scatterers of the incident solar light and their nature can be investigated with remote sensing studies. Among them, the measurement of the phase function curve has a key importance in several scientific aspects. It can be inverted with theoretical and laboratory studies to derive hints on the intimate nature of the emitted dust. It is also needed in adjusting cometary dust production rates for phase angle effects when data obtained throughout large time intervals are correlated. Finally, it is useful for space instruments planning since it provides inputs for optimal exposure times for remote sensing sensors which observe the coma spanning a large range of phase angles during close approaches. This will be particularly valuable in the framework of the future ESA Comet Interceptor mission which is going to fly-by a Dynamically New Comet entering our Inner Solar System for the very first time, carrying instruments which will image the coma with different observing geometries and phase angles in a short amount of time. In order to provide an useful tool to address the aforementioned scientific topics, we used available literature data to build a new composite phase function for cometary dust comae. This was obtained fitting Henyey–Greenstein functions to the original data of 11 comets and then connecting them in a continuous way as all data values were coming from a single average comet. We then fitted our result with a compound Henyey–Greenstein curve and compared it with previous models which were not including recent literature data constituting fine follow-ups of comets at small and large phase angles. The main difference is found in the description of the forward scattering surge, where our model depicts intensity one order of magnitude larger than previous ones. This finding is extremely important since it shows that the choice of the model may have severe consequences when interpreting, or instrumentally planning, forward scattering data.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20054,"journal":{"name":"Planetary and Space Science","volume":"265 ","pages":"Article 106164"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144580289","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-10-01Epub Date: 2025-06-21DOI: 10.1016/j.pss.2025.106155
Na Sun , Yongjiu Feng , Xiaohua Tong , Pengshuo Li , Rong Wang , Yuhao Wang , Yuze Cao , Zilong Cao , Xiong Xu , Yusheng Xu , Shijie Liu
Rock distribution is a crucial factor in landing site selection for Mars exploration. Typically, rocks in flat Martian terrains are characterized by clear boundaries and distinct shadows. We developed a new method (named SSW-ROCK) for rock detection from HiRISE images using the shadow (S) and sliding window technique (SW). SSW-ROCK uses shadows to define the minimum bounding rectangle in the direction of illumination, establishing an initial sliding window based on this rectangle. The window is then slid to the termination position according to the predefined conditions. The rock size can be obtained by fitting the ellipse with the positions of the initial and termination windows. The rock height is estimated using the shadow length along the illumination direction. We used five HiRISE images of Mars between 65° N −70° N for rock detection and detected 532,284 rocks with maximum diameters >1.5 m. We selected accuracy assessment areas in each of the five images and extracted the rocks manually. The SSW-ROCK results were assessed for accuracy using the manual results as a benchmark. In the assessment, we proposed two evaluation metrics, PS and PM: PS measures the proportion of SSW-ROCK results with center points within the range of manual results, while PM measures the proportion of manual results with center points within the range of SSW-ROCK results. Accuracy assessments in five selected areas showed that the mean for both PS and PM exceeded 77 %. Additionally, the dimensions detected by the SSW-ROCK method for known Mars landers closely match their actual sizes. These experiments demonstrate that the SSW-ROCK method is effective for rock detection in flat Martian terrains.
{"title":"A sliding window method considering image shadow to detect Mars rock from MRO HiRISE datasets","authors":"Na Sun , Yongjiu Feng , Xiaohua Tong , Pengshuo Li , Rong Wang , Yuhao Wang , Yuze Cao , Zilong Cao , Xiong Xu , Yusheng Xu , Shijie Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.pss.2025.106155","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.pss.2025.106155","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Rock distribution is a crucial factor in landing site selection for Mars exploration. Typically, rocks in flat Martian terrains are characterized by clear boundaries and distinct shadows. We developed a new method (named SSW-ROCK) for rock detection from HiRISE images using the shadow (S) and sliding window technique (SW). SSW-ROCK uses shadows to define the minimum bounding rectangle in the direction of illumination, establishing an initial sliding window based on this rectangle. The window is then slid to the termination position according to the predefined conditions. The rock size can be obtained by fitting the ellipse with the positions of the initial and termination windows. The rock height is estimated using the shadow length along the illumination direction. We used five HiRISE images of Mars between 65° N −70° N for rock detection and detected 532,284 rocks with maximum diameters >1.5 m. We selected accuracy assessment areas in each of the five images and extracted the rocks manually. The SSW-ROCK results were assessed for accuracy using the manual results as a benchmark. In the assessment, we proposed two evaluation metrics, PS and PM: PS measures the proportion of SSW-ROCK results with center points within the range of manual results, while PM measures the proportion of manual results with center points within the range of SSW-ROCK results. Accuracy assessments in five selected areas showed that the mean for both PS and PM exceeded 77 %. Additionally, the dimensions detected by the SSW-ROCK method for known Mars landers closely match their actual sizes. These experiments demonstrate that the SSW-ROCK method is effective for rock detection in flat Martian terrains.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20054,"journal":{"name":"Planetary and Space Science","volume":"265 ","pages":"Article 106155"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144481490","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}