Mathematics – Logic
Scientific paper
Apr 2003
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2003eaeja....12558o&link_type=abstract
EGS - AGU - EUG Joint Assembly, Abstracts from the meeting held in Nice, France, 6 - 11 April 2003, abstract #12558
Mathematics
Logic
Scientific paper
Europe, through its European Space Agency, is actively exploring all the bodies of the inner Solar System and it is time to look toward the far reaches and begin planning a mission beyond Mars. Upcoming NASA missions will visit Saturn and its satellites, Pluto/Charon and likely Europa. Jupiter's moon Io is central to the interests of several scientific communities, including (among others) space physics, geology, and geophysics. Io is the most volcanically active object in the Solar System and the only body other than Earth where it is possible to observe active geologic processes. In spite of the extremely exotic environment, Io may provide clues to the large-scale processes that shaped the Earth in its first 3 Gy because the very high temperature lavas on Io appear to be ultramafic in composition, in some ways similar to early terrestrial magmas. Moreover, Io's large lava flows may be analogs to continental flood basalts never directly observed on Earth. The nature a of Io's lavas suggest that the crust of Io could be underlain by an ocean of crystal-rich magma, perhaps similar to the global magma oceans postulated for the early Earth and Moon. Io's volcanoes produce energetic plumes that drive the moon's tenuous atmosphere and pollute the jovian system with dust, neutrals, and ions that sustain the plasma torus. Io's high radiation environment poses both an engineering challenge and a science opportunity: an orbiting spacecraft would provide an unique platform to study the interaction between the satellite and the plasma torus. The inclusion of one or more landers would help address outstanding questions concerning the satellite's interior. Critical goals of a European mission include studies of Io's surface, interior and atmosphere/plasma torus. An orbiter could directly sample the atmosphere to identify the constituents with mass spectroscopy, discover how escaping materials sustain the plasma torus, and determine the sources of the K, Na and Cl. An orbiter could also study Io's surface at high spatial and spectral resolution in order to monitor volcanic activity and establish the composition of Io's lavas and other surface constituents. The presence or absence of a subsurface magma ocean could be resolved by orbital measurements of the amplitude of Io's tides; such LIDAR measurements would also define Io's presently unknown global topography. Independent constraints on a magma ocean could be provided by surface seismology performed by simple penetrators, deployed at several surface locations, that could also measure Io's conductive heat flow to determine the satellite's total heat budget.
Geissler Paul Eric
Ori Gian Gabriele
No associations
LandOfFree
Rationa for a European mission to Io does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.
If you have personal experience with Rationa for a European mission to Io, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Rationa for a European mission to Io will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-845534