Purdue Martian moon project gaining international buzz
Dr. Jay Melosh
Martian moon dust is being scrutinized under a joint project between
members of the Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Physics, and
Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering programs at Purdue
University. Led by Jay Melosh, a distinguished professor of Earth,
Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences and Physics, and sponsored by NASA’s
Planetary Protection Office, the study was commissioned to prepare for a
2011 Russian space mission to Phobos, the moon closest to Mars.
While the Phobos-Grunt mission failed with the spacecraft never making it to Phobos, Melosh and his team used extensive calculations and impact crater measurements on Mars to determine how much material from the Red Planet has collected on the Phobos surface in the past 10 million years. Melosh and his team, which included graduate student Loic Chappaz, did not need to launch into outer space to find that a 200-gram sample scooped from Phobos’ surface could contain enough Martian material to study. Chappaz, a native of Annecy, France, presented his findings and talked about his role in the study July 14 in Mysore, India. “What happens is small impactors, like asteroids, impact the Martian surface and eject a large quantity of particles in space,” Chappaz stated. “Some of these particles may then be collected by Phobos.”
Melosh and Chappaz focused much attention on Mojave, a relatively “young” crater 60 kilometers in diameter. Chappaz said the crater is the biggest in the 10 million-year span.
The main reason for the research was to find life on Phobos, albeit microscopic.
“The reason we want to know the likely amount of Martian material in a sample collected on Phobos is that microscopic life forms, bacteria essentially, that may be present on Mars are believed to be able to survive both the original impact of Mars and the travel in Space to Phobos,” Chappaz said. “So, some dormant organisms may be present in a sample collected on Phobos. By the same reasoning, the spacecraft landing on Phobos may be contaminated by some of these organisms present in Phobos soil. This is important to quantify to then decide the appropriate measures to undertake for possible quarantine of the spacecraft and the sample upon return on Earth.
“Another important aspect is that such a sample could contain the first hard evidence of life beyond Earth.” Melosh and his team’s findings have already piqued international interest. “Both NASA and ESA (European Space Agency) are currently expressing interest in new missions to Phobos, or Mars,” Chappaz said. “So, we may hear more questions in the future and maybe some answers and validation is such a mission does occur.” Chappaz believes man will one day make it to Phobos or Mars.
“How soon is hard to tell,” he said. “There are some technological issues that need to be solved including shielding to radiation (cosmic rays) that are really hazardous to man's health, and life support (mainly production of oxygen and water).”
While the Phobos-Grunt mission failed with the spacecraft never making it to Phobos, Melosh and his team used extensive calculations and impact crater measurements on Mars to determine how much material from the Red Planet has collected on the Phobos surface in the past 10 million years. Melosh and his team, which included graduate student Loic Chappaz, did not need to launch into outer space to find that a 200-gram sample scooped from Phobos’ surface could contain enough Martian material to study. Chappaz, a native of Annecy, France, presented his findings and talked about his role in the study July 14 in Mysore, India. “What happens is small impactors, like asteroids, impact the Martian surface and eject a large quantity of particles in space,” Chappaz stated. “Some of these particles may then be collected by Phobos.”
Melosh and Chappaz focused much attention on Mojave, a relatively “young” crater 60 kilometers in diameter. Chappaz said the crater is the biggest in the 10 million-year span.
The main reason for the research was to find life on Phobos, albeit microscopic.
“The reason we want to know the likely amount of Martian material in a sample collected on Phobos is that microscopic life forms, bacteria essentially, that may be present on Mars are believed to be able to survive both the original impact of Mars and the travel in Space to Phobos,” Chappaz said. “So, some dormant organisms may be present in a sample collected on Phobos. By the same reasoning, the spacecraft landing on Phobos may be contaminated by some of these organisms present in Phobos soil. This is important to quantify to then decide the appropriate measures to undertake for possible quarantine of the spacecraft and the sample upon return on Earth.
“Another important aspect is that such a sample could contain the first hard evidence of life beyond Earth.” Melosh and his team’s findings have already piqued international interest. “Both NASA and ESA (European Space Agency) are currently expressing interest in new missions to Phobos, or Mars,” Chappaz said. “So, we may hear more questions in the future and maybe some answers and validation is such a mission does occur.” Chappaz believes man will one day make it to Phobos or Mars.
“How soon is hard to tell,” he said. “There are some technological issues that need to be solved including shielding to radiation (cosmic rays) that are really hazardous to man's health, and life support (mainly production of oxygen and water).”