Numerical modelling of radiance of the presumed dust torus around Mars in the 0.350-1 μm spectral range

Currently conducted studies on modelling of scattered solar radiation in the 0.350-1.00 μm range along the Phobos orbit around Mars are presented. Our calculations include various types of grains, various densities and scattering angles. The calculations are performed with the aid of LOWTRAN7 program. These studies are directly related to the photometer coupled to PFS (Planetary Fourier Spectrometer) planned for the Mars-96 mission.     

The Genesis Solar-Wind Collector Materials

Genesis (NASA Discovery Mission #5) is a sample return mission. Collectors comprised of ultra-high purity materials will be exposed to the solar wind and then returned to Earth for laboratory analysis. There is a suite of fifteen types of ultra-pure materials distributed among several locations. Most of the materials are mounted on deployable panels (‘collector arrays’), with some as targets in the focal spot of an electrostatic mirror (the ‘concentrator’). Other materials are strategically placed on the spacecraft as additional targets of opportunity to maximize the area for solar-wind collection. Most of the collection area consists of hexagonal collectors in the arrays; approximately half are silicon, the rest are for solar-wind components not retained and/or not easily measured in silicon. There are a variety of materials both in collector arrays and elsewhere targeted for the analyses of specific solar-wind components. Engineering and science factors drove the selection process. Engineering required testing of physical properties such as the ability to withstand shaking on launch and thermal cycling during deployment. Science constraints included bulk purity, surface and interface cleanliness, retentiveness with respect to individual solar-wind components, and availability. A detailed report of material parameters planned as a resource for choosing materials for study will be published on a Genesis website, and will be updated as additional information is obtained. Some material is already linked to the Genesis plasma data website (genesis.lanl.gov). Genesis should provide a reservoir of materials for allocation to the scientific community throughout the 21st Century. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Elemental Abundances of the Bulk Solar Wind: Analyses from Genesis and ACE

Analysis of the Genesis samples is underway. Preliminary elemental abundances based on Genesis sample analyses are in good agreement with in situ-measured elemental abundances made by ACE/SWICS during the Genesis collection period. Comparison of these abundances with those of earlier solar cycles indicates that the solar wind composition is relatively stable between cycles for a given type of flow. ACE/SWICS measurements for the Genesis collection period also show a continuum in compositional variation as a function of velocity for the quasi-stationary flow that defies the simple binning of samples into their sources of coronal hole (CH) and interstream (IS).     

Numerical modelling of radiance of the presumed dust torus around Mars in the 0.350–1 μm spectral range

With the use of high performance liquid chromatography the products of abiogenic synthesis of adenine nucleotides in solid films were indentified and estimated quantitatively. The main products of photosynthesis appeared to be adenosine and deoxyadenosine monophosphates. Maximal yield of these products in case of adenosine has been 0.36 for 5′AMP, 0.41% for 2′(3′)AMP, 0.20 for 2′3′cAMP; in case of deoxyadenosine 0.13% for 5′dAMP, 0.15% for 3′dAMP, 0.24% for 3′5′cdAMP. The destruction of initial adenosine and deoxyadenosine by the end of the experiment was 10 and 15%, respectively. By the increasing of irradiation dose, 5′AMP and 5′dAMP synthesized in the cource of VUV photolysis were destructed up to adenine, its yield being 15% in both cases.