Nuclear Physics and Planetary Exploration
Abstract
Neutron and gamma-ray spectroscopy (NGRS) of planetary bodies has become a standard technique for measuring distinctive geochemical compositions and volatile abundance signatures for key elements relevant to planetary structure and evolution. These measurements also provide important information for in-situ resource utilization and human exploration. On airless or near-airless bodies, Galactic Cosmic Rays (GCRs) interact within the top meter of planetary surfaces, producing spallation neutrons. Moderation of GCR spallation neutrons by hydrogen provides a unique signature indicating the presence and abundance of near-surface water. These neutrons also undergo inelastic scattering or capture with the surrounding material, resulting in gamma-ray emission at distinct energies. Neutron and gamma-ray detectors onboard orbiting spacecraft or landed rovers detect the leakage neutron and gamma-ray signatures and require good gamma-ray energy resolution, neutron energy determination over twelve orders of magnitude, and operation in harsh environments under mission resource constraints. This talk will describe NGRS basics and the Elpasolite Planetary Ice and Composition Spectrometer under development at LANL for next-generation, low-resource planetary science missions.
This work was supported by LANL Laboratory Directed Research and Development and NASA.- Publication:
-
APS Division of Nuclear Physics Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- 2019
- Bibcode:
- 2019APS..DNP.SK004M