Melting and Sublimation of Planetary Ices Under Low Pressure Conditions: Laboratory Experiments with a Melting Probe Prototype |
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| Authors: | Erika?Kaufmann Günter?Kargl Email author" target="_blank">Norbert?I?K?mleEmail author Manfred?Steller Johann?Hasiba Florian?Tatschl Stefan?Ulamec Jens?Biele Marc?Engelhardt Jens?Romstedt |
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| Institution: | 1.Space Research Institute,Austrian Academy of Sciences,Graz,Austria;2.DLR Institut für Raumsimulation,K?ln,Germany;3.ESA, ESTEC,Noordwijk,The Netherlands |
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| Abstract: | One possibility to explore the subsurface layers of icy bodies is to use a probe with a “hot tip", which is able to penetrate
ice layers by melting. Such probes have been built and used in the past for the exploration of terrestrial polar ice sheets
and may also become useful tools to explore other icy layers in the Solar System. Examples for such layers are the polar areas
of Mars or the icy crust of Jupiter’s moon Europa. However, while on Earth a heated probe launched into an ice sheet always
causes melting with subsequent refreezing, the behaviour of such a probe in a low pressure environment is quite different.
We report on the results of some experiments with a simple “melting probe" prototype with two different kinds of hot tips
in a vacuum environment. For one of the tips the probe moved into two types of ice samples: (i) compact water ice and (ii)
porous water ice with a snow (firn) like texture. It was also found that the penetration behaviour was basically different
for the two sample types even when the same kind of tip was used. While in the porous sample the ice was only subliming, the
phase changes occurring during the interaction of the tip with the compact ice are much more complex. Here alternating phases
of melting and sublimation occur. The absence of the liquid phase has severe consequences on the performance of a “melting
probe" under vacuum conditions: In this environment we find a high thermal resistance between the probe surface and the underlying
ice. Therefore, only a low percentage of the heat that is generated in the tip is used to melt or sublime the ice, the bulk
of the power is transferred towards the rear end of the probe. This is particularly a problem in the initial phases of an
ice penetration experiment, when the probe has not yet penetrated the ice over its whole length. In the compact ice sample,
phases could be observed, where a high enough gas pressure had built up locally underneath the probe, so that melting becomes
possible. Only during these melting periods the thermal contact between the probe and the ice is good and in consequence the
melting probe works effectively. |
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| Keywords: | Planetary ices Melting probes |
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