Sensitivity of gravity gradient sensors for future planetary missions

Details Sensitivity of gravity gradient sensors for future planetary missions Sensitivity of gravity gradient sensors for future planetary missions

Apr 2003

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2003eaeja....11859s&link_type=abstract

EGS - AGU - EUG Joint Assembly, Abstracts from the meeting held in Nice, France, 6 - 11 April 2003, abstract #11859

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Gravity gradient sensors technology may provide important information on the internal structure of planets if they can accommodate the specific requirements for space exploration. The present study investigate the sensitivity required for these devices to answer questions such as the presence of oceans within icy satellites of the outer planets or the depth of mass anomalies on Mars and to characterize Mercury's gravity field. Europa, the second Galilean satellite, may have an ocean in between an outer ice I layer and the silicate core. Life is even envisaged at the interface between the core and the ocean. However, gravity measurements can provide a proof of such an ocean whereas the geological information and geophysical information obtained so far (magnetic field, gravity field) are not conclusive. We show that he sensitivity of the gradiometer must be equal to 100 mEtvos to determine the moment of inertia, 10 mEtvos to determine whether there is an ocean (value of k2), and less than 1 mEtvos if one wants to determine the depth of the ocean. In the case of Mars, the study describes the sensitivity required to determine the compensation depth of relief in agreement with the recent MGS data obtained by Doppler shift measurements. A preliminary study for Mercury shows that gradiometers could be very complementary to the usual radio science measurements in order to determine the depth of the core/mantle boundary and the structure of the lithosphere beneath impact craters.

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