Figure - available from: Space Science Reviews
This content is subject to copyright. Terms and conditions apply.
The evolution of the equilibrium temperature for Mercury at perihelion (0.307 AU; left), and aphelion (0.466 AU; right) for different bolometric luminosity evolution models by Baraffe et al. (1998), Siess et al. (2000), Tognelli et al. (2011), and Baraffe et al. (2015)
Source publication
![The evolution of Lbol\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath}...](publication/359751908/figure/fig2/AS:1147843469410306@1650678617682/The-evolution-of-Lboldocumentclass12ptminimal-usepackageamsmath_Q320.jpg)
In this review we discuss all the relevant solar/stellar radiation and plasma parameters and processes that act together in the formation and modification of atmospheres and exospheres that consist of surface-related minerals. Magma ocean degassed silicate atmospheres or thin gaseous envelopes from planetary building blocks, airless bodies in the i...
Similar publications
Toroidal atmospheres and exospheres characterized at exoplanets may be fueled by volcanically active exomoons, often referred to as exo‐Ios. We study the neutral outgassing and volatile evolution of a close‐orbiting, evaporating satellite at eight candidate exoplanet‐exomoon systems WASP‐49,‐96,‐69,‐17 b, XO‐2N b, HAT‐P‐1 b, HD‐189733 b, and HD‐209...
Citations
... This agrees well with the temporal variation of the He I 1083 intensity shown by Judge et al. (2019) close to second and third contacts. We do not anticipate an terrestrial exospheric origin of the signal (Lammer et al. 2022), coming from He I ions, because this cannot explain readily the presence of the previously observed lines of Ca II in the blue part of the spectrum by Stellmacher & Koutchmy (1974). However, this observation grants a further repeat of this observations and we believe measurements above (much of) the atmosphere, in conditions of significantly lower sky brightness, such as the CORSAIR balloon, would judge a definitive verdict on the scattering hypothesis we further in this work. ...
Strong He I 1083 nm atomic line signals have been previously measured during total solar eclipses at coronal heights above the lunar limb. This rather unexpected measurement has kindled a discussion about the hypothesized presence of significant amounts of neutral helium at coronal conditions. We performed spectroscopic observations of the He I 1083 nm spectroscopic region with the newly built CHEESE instrument during the April 8th 2024 total solar eclipse to test the presence of He I 1083 in the solar corona. We detected the He I 1083, the forbidden coronal line Fe XIII 1074.7 nm, as well as the chromospheric H I 1093.8 nm Paschen-{\gamma} line in our eclipse observations. The chromospheric He I 1083 and H I 1093.8 nm Paschen-{\gamma} lines are detected in the corona as well as on the lunar disc. Our findings point toward a non-solar origin of the He I 1083 signal during the April 8th 2024 eclipse that challenge the notion of abundant neutral helium in the solar corona inferred from eclipse observations.
... The lunar environment offers the opportunity to use our closest neighbour in order to study the surface-bounded exosphere of an 'airless' unmagnetized planetary body (figure 2), its production mechanisms, its dynamics, its interaction with the solar wind and with the Earth's magnetosphere plasma, and its escape into space [4,[24][25][26][27]. The sources of the lunar exosphere include the solar wind, the release of atoms from the regolith through diverse interaction mechanisms (thermal release, photon stimulated desorption, electron stimulated desorption, sputtering, micrometeorite impact vaporization, etc.), and lunar outgassing [24,25,28]. ...
... The analysis of particles implanted in the lunar regolith, which originated from the Earth's atmosphere, can also provide some information on the early terrestrial atmosphere [26,32,55,56]. Planetary evolution models suggest that the early terrestrial atmosphere experienced an intense escape of hydrogen, oxygen and carbon, resulting from the dissociation of water and methane molecules, and of nitrogen due to the increased EUV flux from the active young Sun [55,[57][58][59][60]. ...
... Sputtering is another process induced by the exposure of the lunar regolith to the solar wind ions and SEPs [26]. This process releases different species from the surface into space, contributing to the population of the lunar exosphere, particularly with the heavier more refractory elements [24,109,110]. ...
The Moon is a unique natural laboratory for the study of the deep space plasma and energetic particles environment. During more than 3/4 of its orbit around the Earth it is exposed to the solar wind. Being an unmagnetized body and lacking a substantial atmosphere, solar wind and solar energetic particles bombard the Moon's surface, interacting with the lunar regolith and the tenuous lunar exosphere. Energetic particles arriving at the Moon's surface can be absorbed, or scattered, or can remove another particle from the lunar regolith by sputtering or desorption. A similar phenomenon occurs also with the galactic cosmic rays, which have fluxes and energy spectra representative of interplanetary space. During the remaining part of its orbit the Moon crosses the tail of the terrestrial magnetosphere. It then provides the opportunity to study in-situ the terrestrial magnetotail plasma environment as well as atmospheric escape from the Earth's ionosphere, in the form of heavy ions accelerated and streaming downtail. The lunar environment is thus a unique natural laboratory for analysing the interaction of the solar wind, the cosmic rays and the Earth's magnetosphere with the surface, the immediate subsurface, and the surface-bounded exosphere of an unmagnetized planetary body.
This article is part of a discussion meeting issue ‘Astronomy from the Moon: the next decades (part 2)’.
... Sputtering of atoms from surfaces by ion irradiation is important for a diverse range of fields, such as thin film production for optical coatings and electronic devices, 1-4 the design of containment vessels for fusion reactors, [5][6][7] surface processing and analysis, [8][9][10][11] nanofabrication, [12][13][14][15][16] and studies of surface and exosphere evolution of airless planetary bodies such as Mercury, the Moon, and asteroids. [17][18][19] Our ability to advance these fields requires knowledge of the absolute polar and azimuthal distributions of the sputtered atoms. However, our understanding of sputtering at this fundamental level remains incomplete. ...
We have measured the absolute doubly differential angular sputtering yield for 20 keV Kr⁺ impacting a polycrystalline Cu slab at an incidence angle of θi = 45° relative to the surface normal. Sputtered Cu atoms were captured using collectors mounted on a half dome above the sample, and the sputtering distribution was measured as a function of the sputtering polar, θs, and azimuthal, ϕs, angles. Absolute results of the sputtering yield were determined from the mass gain of each collector, the ion dose, and the solid angle subtended, after irradiation to a total fluence of ∼1 × 10¹⁸ ions/cm². Our approach overcomes shortcomings of commonly used methods that only provide relative yields as a function of θs in the incidence plane (defined by the ion velocity and the surface normal). Our experimental results display an azimuthal variation that increases with increasing θs and is clearly discrepant with simulations using binary collision theory. We attribute the observed azimuthal anisotropy to ion-induced formation of micro- and nano-scale surface features that suppress the sputtering yield through shadowing and redeposition effects, neither of which are accounted for in the simulations. Our experimental results demonstrate the importance of doubly differential angular sputtering studies to probe ion sputtering processes at a fundamental level and to explore the effect of ion-beam-generated surface roughness.
... Exospheres could act as a limit between the surface and the adjacent environment. The composition exospheres is based on a combination of gases released from the surface through various processes like thermal release or vaporization [13]. Those molecules emitted from the surface are ejected through trajectories until they make collisions again with the surface, altering the chemistry of the material present on the surface and modifying the optical surface properties [14,15]. ...
... Those molecules emitted from the surface are ejected through trajectories until they make collisions again with the surface, altering the chemistry of the material present on the surface and modifying the optical surface properties [14,15]. Here, we assume that the sublimation of volatiles like ammonia, water ice, and methane contributes to the formation of an H 2 O exosphere on airless bodies like Iapetus [7,13], and the sublimation of water ice is two orders of magnitude higher on the dark side than on the bright one [16]. We also assume that the bright hemisphere is fully covered by pure water ice due to its migration from the dark side [3]. ...
In this manuscript, there were performed simulations of the evolution of the surface temperature for each of the two hemispheres of Iapetus. This icy moon of Saturn shows the most differentiated albedo dichotomy of the Solar System. The dark leading side has a lower albedo than the bright trailing side. Spectral data on the visible light reveal the existence of two types of materials on the surface. The darkening in the leading side is thought to be due to the presence of organic material and carbonaceous compounds on the surface, while the trailing side is covered by water ice due to migration processes from the dark side. On airless bodies like Iapetus, the surface escape speed is greater than the speed of water molecules, resulting in the retention of a H2O atmosphere that allows some species to diffuse through it. Results showed a slow yet steady increment of temperatures for both sides, with a steeper slope for the dark hemisphere. It was also simulated how much energy can be accumulated on both sides and the consequences of that. Finally, we calculated the diffusion coefficients for ammonia, methane, and water ice. The results allowed us to infer how these compounds could evolve over time.
... Exospheres could act as a limit between the surface and the adjacent environment, which composition is based on a combination of gases released from the surface through various processes like thermal release or vaporization [13]. Those molecules emitted from the surface are ejected through trajectories until they make collisions again with the surface, altering the chemistry of the material present on the surface, and modifying the optical surface properties [14,15]. ...
... Those molecules emitted from the surface are ejected through trajectories until they make collisions again with the surface, altering the chemistry of the material present on the surface, and modifying the optical surface properties [14,15]. Here we assume that the sublimation of volatiles like ammonia, water ice, and methane contributes to the formation of an H2O exosphere on airless bodies like Iapetus [7,13], and the sublimation of water ice is two orders of magnitude higher on the dark side than in the bright one [16]. We also assume that the bright hemisphere is fully covered by pure water ice due to its migration from the dark side [3]. ...
Iapetus, a Saturn moon, shows the most differentiated albedo dichotomy of the Solar System. The dark leading side has a lower albedo than the bright trailing side. Spectral data on the visible light reveal the existence of two types of materials on the surface. The darkening in the leading side is thought to be originated by the presence of organic material and carbonaceous compounds on surface, while the trailing side is covered by water ice due to migration processes from the dark side. On airless bodies like Iapetus, the surface escape speed is greater than the speed of water molecules, resulting in the retention of a H2O atmosphere that allows some species to get diffused through it. Here, there were performed simulations of the evolution of the surface temperature for each of the two hemispheres of Iapetus. The results showed a slow yet steady increment of temperatures for both sides, with a steeper slope for the dark hemisphere. It was also simulated how much energy budget can be accumulated in both sides and its consequences. Finally, we calculated the diffusion coefficients for ammonia, methane, and water ice. The results let us infer how these compounds could evolve over time.
... In the solar system, evidence for the moon-forming impact (e.g., Asphaug et al. 2021;Canup et al. 2021, and references therein) and analyses of elemental abundances in Venus, Earth, and Mars (e.g., Lammer et al. 2021Lammer et al. , 2022 and references therein) provide strong incentive for the role of giant impacts in the evolution of at least one planetary system. However, this evolutionary history may be rare if most planetary systems form their terrestrial planets early, in the nebular phase. ...
The formation of planets like Earth is expected to conclude with a series of late-stage giant impacts that generate warm dusty debris, the most anticipated visible signpost of terrestrial planet formation in progress. While there is now evidence that Earth-sized terrestrial planets orbit a significant fraction of solar-type stars, the anticipated dusty debris signature of their formation is rarely detected. Here we discuss several ways in which our current ideas about terrestrial planet formation imply transport mechanisms capable of erasing the anticipated debris signature. A tenuous gas disk may be regenerated via takeout (i.e., the liberation of planetary atmospheres in giant impacts) or delivery (i.e., by asteroids and comets flung into the terrestrial planet region) at a level sufficient to remove the warm debris. The powerful stellar wind from a young star can also act, its delivered wind momentum producing a drag that removes warm debris. If such processes are efficient, terrestrial planets may assemble inconspicuously, with little publicity and hoopla accompanying their birth. Alternatively, the rarity of warm excesses may imply that terrestrial planets typically form very early, emerging fully formed from the nebular phase without undergoing late-stage giant impacts. In either case, the observable signposts of terrestrial planet formation appear more challenging to detect than previously assumed. We discuss observational tests of these ideas.
... In the Solar System, evidence for the moon-forming impact (e.g., Asphaug et al. 2021;Canup et al. 2021, and references therein) and analyses of elemental abundances in Venus, Earth, and Mars (e.g., Lammer et al. 2021Lammer et al. , 2022, and references therein) provide strong incentive for the role of giant impacts in the evolution of at least one planetary system. However, this evolutionary history may be rare if most planetary systems form their terrestrial planets early, in the nebular phase. ...
The formation of planets like Earth is expected to conclude with a series of late-stage giant impacts that generate warm dusty debris, the most anticipated visible signpost of terrestrial planet formation in progress. While there is now evidence that Earth-sized terrestrial planets orbit a significant fraction of solar-type stars, the anticipated dusty debris signature of their formation is rarely detected. Here we discuss several ways in which our current ideas about terrestrial planet formation imply transport mechanisms capable of erasing the anticipated debris signature. A tenuous gas disk may be regenerated via "takeout" (i.e., the liberation of planetary atmospheres in giant impacts) or "delivery" (i.e., by asteroids and comets flung into the terrestrial planet region) at a level sufficient to remove the warm debris. The powerful stellar wind from a young star can also act, its delivered wind momentum producing a drag that removes warm debris. If such processes are efficient, terrestrial planets may assemble inconspicuously, with little publicity and hoopla accompanying their birth. Alternatively, the rarity of warm excesses may imply that terrestrial planets typically form very early, emerging fully formed from the nebular phase without undergoing late-stage giant impacts. In either case, the observable signposts of terrestrial planet formation appear more challenging to detect than previously assumed. We discuss observational tests of these ideas.
Mercury has a very tenuous atmosphere starting at the surface, which is referred to as a surface-bound exosphere, where there are no collisions between exospheric particles. Having a surface-bound exosphere means that the particles in the exosphere have their origin on Mercury’s surface; thus, the composition of the exosphere is connected to the composition of the surface. In situ composition measurements of the exosphere can contribute to the study of the composition of the surface, together with a range of remote sensing techniques (ultraviolet, visible, infrared, X-ray, gamma-ray, and neutron spectroscopy). The external drivers for the particle release from the surface are solar photons, solar wind plasma, and micrometeoroid impacts. These drivers also cause space weathering of the surface, resulting in significant physical and chemical alterations in the regolith, ranging from the very surface to depths up to one meter. Modifications of the surface by space weathering must be considered when interpreting the composition measurements of the exosphere as well as the composition measurements of the surface by the established remote sensing techniques, because their information comes from the space-weathered volume of the surface. Therefore, the particle populations in the exosphere, space weathering, and the composition of the surface are intimately connected and must be studied together. In the following, we will review the connections between the surface and the exosphere of Mercury.
The Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway (LOP-Gateway, or simply Gateway) is a crewed platform that will be assembled and operated in the vicinity of the Moon by NASA and international partner organizations, including ESA, starting from the mid-2020s. It will offer new opportunities for fundamental and applied scientific research. The Moon is a unique location to study the deep space plasma environment. Moreover, the lunar surface and the surface-bounded exosphere are interacting with this environment, constituting a complex multi-scale interacting system. This paper examines the opportunities provided by externally mounted payloads on the Gateway in the field of space plasma physics, heliophysics and space weather, and also examines the impact of the space environment on an inhabited platform in the vicinity of the Moon. It then presents the conceptual design of a model payload, required to perform these space plasma measurements and observations. It results that the Gateway is very well-suited for space plasma physics research. It allows a series of scientific objectives with a multidisciplinary dimension to be addressed.
