Charles John Budney

Mineralogy at Meridiani Planum from the Mini-TES experiment on the opportunity rover

The Miniature Thermal Emission Spectrometer (Mini-TES) on Opportunity investigated the mineral abundances and compositions of outcrops, rocks, and soils at Meridiani Planum. Coarse crystalline hematite and olivine-rich basaltic sands were observed as predicted from orbital TES spectroscopy. Outcrops of aqueous origin are composed of 15 to 35% by volume magnesium and calcium sulfates [a high-silica component modeled as a combination of glass, feldspar, and sheet silicates (∼20 to 30%)], and hematite; only minor jarosite is identified in Mini-TES spectra. Mini-TES spectra show only a hematite signature in the millimeter-sized spherules. Basaltic materials have more plagioclase than pyroxene, contain olivine, and are similar in inferred mineral composition to basalt mapped from orbit. Bounce rock is dominated by clinopyroxene and is close in inferred mineral composition to the basaltic martian meteorites. Bright wind streak material matches global dust. Waterlain rocks covered by unaltered basaltic sands suggest a change from an aqueous environment to one dominated by physical weathering.

First Atmospheric Science Results from the Mars Exploration Rovers Mini-TES

Thermal infrared spectra of the martian atmosphere taken by the Miniature Thermal Emission Spectrometer (Mini-TES) were used to determine the atmospheric temperatures in the planetary boundary layer and the column-integrated optical depth of aerosols. Mini-TES observations show the diurnal variation of the martian boundary layer thermal structure, including a near-surface superadiabatic layer during the afternoon and an inversion layer at night. Upward-looking Mini-TES observations show warm and cool parcels of air moving through the Mini-TES field of view on a time scale of 30 seconds. The retrieved dust optical depth shows a downward trend at both sites.

Overview of the Microscopic Imager Investigation during Spirit's first 450 sols in Gusev crater

The Microscopic Imager (MI) on the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit has returned images of Mars with higher resolution than any previous camera system, allowing detailed petrographic and sedimentological studies of the rocks and soils at the Gusev landing site. Designed to simulate a geologists hand lens, the MI is mounted on Spirits instrument arm and can resolve objects 0.1 mm in size or larger. This paper provides an overview of MI operations, data calibration, processing, and analysis of MI data returned during the first 450 sols (Mars days) of the Spirit landed mission. The primary goal of this paper is to facilitate further analyses of MI data by summarizing the methods used to acquire and process the data, the radiometric and geometric accuracy of MI data products, and the availability of archival products. In addition, scientific results of the MI investigation are summarized. MI observations show that poorly sorted soils are common in Gusev crater, although aeolian bedforms have well-sorted coarse sand grains on their surfaces. Abraded surfaces of plains rocks show igneous textures, light-toned veins or fracture-filling minerals, and discrete coatings. The rocks in the Columbia Hills have a wide variety of granular textures, consistent with volcaniclastic or impact origins. Case hardening and submillimeter veins observed in the rocks as well as soil crusts and cemented clods imply episodic subsurface aqueous fluid movement, which has altered multiple geologic units in the Columbia Hills. The MI also monitored Spirits solar panels and the magnets on the rovers deck.

Basalt thickness in Mare Humorum: The crater excavation method

Basalt thicknesses in mare basins have been determined using assumptions about the premare topography of partly buried craters and by comparison to the Orientale basin. Differences in those assumptions have led to a factor of 4 difference in mare thickness estimates. Further, knowledge of thickness is restricted to areas in which buried craters are present. Using mixing models applied to multispectral images acquired by the Clementine spacecraft, we have shown that craters in the mare sometimes excavate highland material from below the mare cover. Using such craters and assumptions about their depth of excavation, we obtain independent estimates of basalt thickness. Our results are in agreement with the lowest of previous thickness estimates. We derive a volume of 40,000 km 3 for basalts in Mare Humorum, considerably less than the 110,000 km 3 from previous estimates. We also confirm a diameter of 425 km for thc Humorum multiring basin based on the Clementine gridded global topography, assuming an original morphology like Orientale.

Surface processes recorded by rocks and soils on Meridiani Planum, Mars: Microscopic Imager observations during Opportunity's first three extended missions

The Microscopic Imager (MI) on the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity has returned images of Mars with higher resolution than any previous camera system, allowing detailed petrographic and sedimentological studies of the rocks and soils at the Meridiani Planum landing site. Designed to simulate a geologists hand lens, the MI is mounted on Opportunitys instrument arm and can resolve objects 0.1 mm across or larger. This paper provides an overview of MI operations, data calibration, and analysis of MI data returned during the first 900 sols (Mars days) of the Opportunity landed mission. Analyses of Opportunity MI data have helped to resolve major questions about the origin of observed textures and features. These studies support eolian sediment transport, rather than impact surge processes, as the dominant depositional mechanism for Burns formation strata. MI stereo observations of a rock outcrop near the rim of Erebus Crater support the previous interpretation of similar sedimentary structures in Eagle Crater as being formed by surficial flow of liquid water. Well-sorted spherules dominate ripple surfaces on the Meridiani plains, and the size of spherules between ripples decreases by about 1 mm from north to south along Opportunitys traverse between Endurance and Erebus craters.

Sample tube seal testing for Mars Sample Return

Four sealing methods for encapsulating samples in 1 cm diameter thin-walled sample tubes were designed, along with a set of tests for characterization and evaluation of sample preservation capability for the proposed Mars Sample Return (MSR) campaign. The sealing methods include a finned shape memory alloy (SMA) plug, expanding torque plug, contracting SMA ring cap, and expanding SMA ring plug. Mechanical strength and hermeticity of the seal were measured. Robustness of the seal to Mars simulant dust, surface abrasion, and pressure differentials were tested. Survivability tests were run to simulate thermal cycles on Mars, vibration from a Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV), and shock from Earth Entry Vehicle (EEV) landing. Material compatibility with potential sample minerals and organic molecules were studied to select proper tube and seal materials that would not lead to adverse reactions nor contaminate the sample. Cleaning and sterilization techniques were executed on coupons made from the seal materials to assess compliance with planetary protection and contamination control. Finally, a method to cut a sealed tube for sample removal was designed and tested.

THEO Concept Mission: Testing the Habitability of Enceladus's Ocean

Abstract Saturn’s moon Enceladus offers a unique opportunity in the search for life and habitable environments beyond Earth, a key theme of the National Research Council’s 2013–2022 Decadal Survey. A plume of water vapor and ice spews from Enceladus’s south polar region. Cassini data suggest that this plume, sourced by a liquid reservoir beneath the moon’s icy crust, contain organics, salts, and water–rock interaction derivatives. Thus, the ingredients for life as we know it – liquid water, chemistry, and energy sources – are available in Enceladus’s subsurface ocean. We have only to sample the plumes to investigate this hidden ocean environment. We present a New Frontiers class, solar-powered Enceladus orbiter that would take advantage of this opportunity, Testing the Habitability of Enceladus’s Ocean (THEO). Developed by the 2015 Jet Propulsion Laboratory Planetary Science Summer School student participants under the guidance of TeamX, this mission concept includes remote sensing and in situ analyses with a mass spectrometer, a sub-mm radiometer–spectrometer, a camera, and two magnetometers. These instruments were selected to address four key questions for ascertaining the habitability of Enceladus’s ocean within the context of the moon’s geological activity: (1) how are the plumes and ocean connected? (2) are the abiotic conditions of the ocean suitable for habitability? (3) how stable is the ocean environment? (4) is there evidence of biological processes? By taking advantage of the opportunity Enceladus’s plumes offer, THEO represents a viable, solar-powered option for exploring a potentially habitable ocean world of the outer solar system.

Concept for a new frontiers mission to Ganymede: A Planetary Science Summer School study

As part of the NASA Planetary Science Summer School 2010, the Ganymede Interior, Surface and Magnetosphere Observer (GISMO) team developed a robotic mission to Ganymede, one of Jupiters icy moons. This process included the formulation of the science objectives and the selection of a payload tailored to meet these goals. The team then designed a mission architecture aimed toward achieving the science objectives. Using a sequence of 14 flybys of Ganymede, the vehicle would use a simple, staged operation of the science payload. This timeline allows for a simplified design, with relatively low risk and cost. Principle challenges included the finite power available to the vehicle, along with a limited data downlink rate. Otherwise, this preliminary design would meet all mission requirements, as determined by the science goals, and within the allocated cost cap.

Enceladus Vent Explorer Concept

Enceladus Vent Explorer (EVE) is a robotic mission to enter Enceladus vents. It would send two types of modules: Surface Module (SM) and Descent Module (DM). SM is a lander that lands within a few hundred meters from the entrance of an erupting vent. After a successful landing, it deploys a single or multiple DMs. First, a DM moves to a vent and descends into it. It then performs in-situ science investigations in the vent using miniaturized instruments such as microscopic imager and a microfluidics chip. Finally, it collects samples in the vent and delivers to instruments on SM for detailed analysis. Out trade study concluded that the most robust configuration of the DM would be a limbed robot that climbs down the vent using ice screws. The ice screw is a hollow metal screw used by ice climbers for making a strong anchor on ice walls. DM would rely on a power and communication link provided by SM through a tether. Should EVE be realized, it could enable not only the direct confirmation of extraterrestrial life but also the characterization of it. Comparative study of lives on different worlds would provide clues to the secret of the genesis of life.

Design of a low cost mission to the Neptunian system

Visited only by Voyager 2 in 1989, Neptune and its moon Triton hold important clues to the formation and evolution of the solar system and exoplanetary systems. Neptune-sized planets are the most commonly discovered exoplanets to date. Neptune, an ice giant, is theorized to have migrated from its formation location in the early solar system. This migration affects the expected interior structure, composition, and dynamical evolution of the planet. Triton is conjectured to be a heavily-processed, captured Kuiper Belt Object (KBO), a remnant from the early solar nebula and unique in our solar system. Triton may possess a subsurface aqueous ocean, making it an important astrobiological target. The 2013-2022 Planetary Science Decadal Survey [1] identified a number of high priority science goals for the Neptunian system, including understanding the structure, composition, and dynamics of Neptunes atmosphere and magnetosphere, as well as surveying the surface of Triton. Following these guidelines, we present a low cost flyby mission concept to Neptune and Triton: TRIDENT (Taking Remote and In-situ Data to Explore Neptune and Triton). TRIDENT would carry six instruments and a government furnished atmospheric probe and would provide significant improvements over the scientific measurements undertaken by Voyager 2. In this paper, we first provide a detailed overview of the science questions pertaining to Neptune and Triton and of the science investigations necessary to elucidate them. We then present the design of TRIDENTs instrument suite, the trajectory and the spacecraft, as well as the motivation behind each of our choices. In particular, we demonstrate that, for a mission launched on an Atlas V 551, a Neptune orbiter mission would be infeasible with current technology levels without the use of aerocapture. We therefore present a flyby mission concept with a cost lower than FY2015