Showing papers in "Planetary and Space Science in 2012"

TL;DR: DeMeo et al. as mentioned in this paper presented a review of the current knowledge of the density of small bodies and compared with meteorite density, allowing to estimate the macroporosity (i.e., amount of voids) within these bodies.

TL;DR: In situ resource utilization (ISRU) refers to the in situ generation of consumables for autonomous or human activities from raw materials found on the Moon or other planetary bodies as discussed by the authors.

TL;DR: In this article, the authors synthesize the extensive knowledge of terrestrial open basin lakes, deltaic environments, and fluvial systems to assess these questions with evidence from Jezero crater, a 45 km diameter open basin lake and its 15,000 km 2 catchment area, ∼645-km long drainage network, interior sedimentary facies, and ∼50 km long outlet channel system.

TL;DR: In this paper, an interdisciplinary review of outstanding lunar science objectives in all of these different areas is provided, and it is concluded that addressing them satisfactorily will require an end to the 40-year hiatus of lunar surface exploration, and the placing of new scientific instruments on and the return of additional samples from, the surface of the Moon.

TL;DR: In this article, high-resolution images unambiguously reveal thicknesses of mare basalt layers exposed in impact craters, rilles, and steep-walled pits.

TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a novel approach developed at the University of Cambridge that employs molten salt electrochemistry to achieve the combined winning of oxygen and metal from solid lunar materials of varying composition.

TL;DR: The Moon is a complex differentiated planetary object and much remains to be explored and discovered, especially regarding the origin of the Moon, the history of the Earth-Moon system, and processes that have operated in the inner Solar System over the last 4.5 Ga.

TL;DR: Titan's moment of inertia (MoI), estimated from the quadrupole gravity field measured by the Cassini spacecraft, is 0.342, which has been interpreted as evidence of a partially differentiated internal mass distribution.

TL;DR: Wang et al. as mentioned in this paper applied a recently released set of methane line parameters to the modeling of Titan spectra in the 1.58μm window at both low and high spectral resolution.

TL;DR: In this paper, the authors report a revised crater population for Titan using Cassini RADAR data through January 2010 (flyby T65), and make a size-dependent correction for the incomplete coverage (∼33%) using a Monte-Carlo model.

TL;DR: In this article, the identification of β-carotene present in cyanobacteria with a Raman spectrometer under Mars analogue conditions and developed a procedure how to optimize their detection and the detection of various minerals in different types of martian soils.

TL;DR: In this article, a database of fluvial features is created based on radar-SAR data aiming to unveil the distribution and the morphologic and spectral characteristics of valleys on Titan on a global scale.

TL;DR: Gale Crater, the landing site of the 2011 Mars Science Laboratory mission, formed in the Late Noachian and is a 150 km diameter complex impact structure with a central mound (Mount Sharp), the original features of which may be transitional between a central peak and peak ring impact structure.

TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a review of the present H2O2 dataset and an analysis of observability of peroxide during such events using present and future means, and show that the observations favor simulations taking into account heterogeneous chemistry (Lefevre et al. 2008).

TL;DR: The Biology and Mars Experiment (BIOMEX) as mentioned in this paper is an interdisciplinary and international space research project selected by ESA to measure to what extent biomolecules, such as pigments and cellular components, are resistant to and able to maintain their stability under space and Mars-like conditions.

TL;DR: In this article, simultaneous radar and video measurements were made using the Canadian Meteor Orbit Radar (CMOR) and several Gen-III image-intensified CCD cameras to observationally validate metric instrument errors determined through Monte Carlo modelling.

TL;DR: In this article, a comparison of ground-based observations of asteroid (21) Lutetia with imaging data acquired during the flyby of the asteroid by the ESA Rosetta mission is presented.

TL;DR: In this article, the authors described the characterisation activities of the landing sites currently envisaged for the European Space Agency's planned LAPL mission, and simulated the illumination conditions at the potential landing sites using three independent tools.

TL;DR: A wide-ranging study of Titan's surface temperatures by analysis of the Moon's outgoing radiance through a spectral window in the thermal infrared at 19 mm (530/cm) characterized by lower atmospheric opacity is reported in this paper.

TL;DR: In this paper, a review of the microbial contamination observed in manned space stations and in particular the International Space Station ISS will be discussed, demonstrating that it is a microbiologically safe working and living habitat.

TL;DR: A detailed characterization of the formation and evolution of Venus is a key link to the study of terrestrial planets, and to their divergent evolutions as discussed by the authors, but the history of the most Earth-like planet of the Solar System, Venus, is still poorly understood.

TL;DR: In this paper, the density, composition, and morphology of 21 Lutetia from the Rosetta spacecraft were analyzed and it was shown that the asteroid's high bulk density exceeds that of most known chondritic meteorite groups, yet its surface properties resemble those of some carbonaceous and enstatite chondrite groups.

TL;DR: In this article, a review of past and ongoing work on dust toxicity is reviewed, and major knowledge gaps that prevent an accurate assessment of lunar dust toxicity are identified, and a range of studies using ground-based, low-gravity, and in situ measurements is recommended to address the identified knowledge gaps.

TL;DR: In this article, the authors analyze the planetary and exoplanetary science that can be carried out with precursor as well as future low frequency radio instruments on the Moon, assessing the limiting noise sources, comparing them to the average and peak spectra of all planetary radio components as they will be seen from the Lunar surface or orbit.

TL;DR: The morphometry and occurrence of crater-bound fans in southern Margaritifer Terra that were active from around the Hesperian-Amazonian boundary into the Early Amazonian is consistent with emplacement related to synoptic precipitation as mentioned in this paper.

TL;DR: In this article, the authors proposed a new Crater Shape-based interpolation module, which improves previous CDA as follows: (1) it decreases the number of false-detections for the required number of true detections; (2) it improves detection capabilities for very small craters; and (3) it provides more accurate automated measurements of craters' properties.

TL;DR: In this article, the presence of hydrated minerals, mainly Fe/Mg phyllosilicates, with vermiculite as best-fit, was found in an alluvial fan located inside a crater located in NE Hellas region and dated to the Late Hesperian by crater counts and crosscutting relationships.

TL;DR: In this paper, the authors summarize the surface geomorphology observed using the high-resolution images from OSIRIS, the imaging system onboard the European Space Agency's Rosetta spacecraft.

TL;DR: In this paper, a series of TV-GC-MS experiments on powdered basalt containing known organic compounds (benzoic acid or mellitic acid) at different concentrations (500 and 0.5 ) were described.

TL;DR: In this article, the trajectories of boulders ejected from the central crater of Lutetia were modeled and it was shown that their distribution is consistent with most of them being created from that crater.