Planetary surfaces

Abstract:

Recent observations from the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) have revealed the presence of hydrogen chloride (HCl) in the martian atmosphere. HCl shows strong seasonality, primarily appearing during Mars' perihelion period before decreasing faster than projected from photolysis and gas‐phase chemistry. HCl profiles also display local anti‐correlation with water ice aerosol. One candidate explanation is heterogeneous chemistry. We present the first results from a heterogeneous chlorine chemistry scheme incorporated into a Mars global climate model (GCM), with atmospheric dust/water ice parameterized as an HCl source/sink respectively. Results were compared against a Mars GCM with gas‐phase only chlorine chemistry and observations from TGO's Atmospheric Chemistry Suite. We found that the heterogeneous scheme significantly improved the modeled HCl seasonal, latitudinal, and vertical distribution, supporting a crucial role for heterogeneous chemistry in Mars' chlorine cycle. Remaining discrepancies show that further work is needed to characterize the exact aerosol reactions involved.

Abstract:

Recent observations by instruments aboard the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) have revealed the seasonal presence of hydrogen chloride ( HCl $\text{HCl}$ ) in the Martian atmosphere. This discovery may have important implications for Martian photochemistry as chlorine species are chemically active, and it may provide a link between the atmosphere and known surface reservoirs of chlorine. However, the global distribution of atmospheric HCl $\text{HCl}$ is unknown beyond the very sparse TGO observations, and the source and sink processes driving the observed variability of HCl $\text{HCl}$ are not currently understood. We used a Martian global climate model to investigate, for the first time, the spatial distribution of chlorine species in the Martian atmosphere, and the resulting distribution of surface perchlorates formed via adsorption of atmospheric chlorine species. We adapted an existing Martian photochemical scheme to include gas‐phase chlorine chemistry with HCl as the source species, and the resulting atmospheric perchloric acid was allowed to deposit onto the Martian surface via a heterogeneous adsorption scheme. We found that odd‐oxygen ( O , O 3 $\mathrm{O},{\mathrm{O}}_{3}$ ) and odd‐hydrogen ( H , OH , HO 2 $\mathrm{H},\text{OH},{\text{HO}}_{2}$ ) species play a major role in controlling the distribution of atmospheric chorine species. Surface perchlorate deposition was found to occur preferentially at high latitudes; in the tropics, the perchlorate distribution was anti‐correlated with surface thermal inertia and agreed qualitatively with observations of surface chlorine. Our model predicted a relative enhancement of HCl in polar regions, but it did not reproduce the observed strong seasonality of HCl, suggesting that heterogeneous chemistry may be required to explain the observed chlorine cycle.

Abstract:

The Peregrine Ion Trap Mass Spectrometer (PITMS) was a mass spectrometer designed to measure lunar gases. PITMS flew on the first flight of Astrobotic’s Peregrine lander via the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program in 2024 January. After launch, the lander suffered a propulsion system anomaly that prevented the mission from reaching the Moon, but PITMS collected 80 high-quality spectra while in cislunar space. PITMS observed abundant outgassing products from the Peregrine lander, including water, MON-25 oxidizer from the propulsion system leak, and traces of combustion products. PITMS data help constrain the nature of the propulsion system failure: oxidizer molecular ratios show that the leak released molecules rapidly enough for them to fully dissociate, and the high observed abundances imply that the oxidizer traveled within the lander surfaces rather than jetting into space. The amount of water offgassed by the spacecraft is substantially more than other planetary spacecraft, so the PITMS results suggest that instruments flying in the CLPS paradigm need to consider lander cleanliness. Though not successful in measuring the native lunar exosphere, the PITMS results showcase the capabilities of a mass spectrometer on board a lunar lander, along with lessons in pragmatism and flexibility that would enable such an instrument to ultimately be successful in the CLPS initiative.