ALBERT

Description: We consider dust production and entrainment into the atmosphere of Mars by impacts. Numerical simulations based on the multidimensional multimaterial hydrocode were conducted for impactors 1 to 100 m in size and velocities 11 and 20 kilometers per second. The size distribution of particles was based on experimentrr wing TNT explosions. Dust can be mobilized even when the impactor does not reach the ground through the release of energy in the atmosphere, We found that the blast produced winds entrained dust by a mechanism similar to boundary layer winds as determined from the wind-tunnel tests. For a l-m radius stony asteroid releasing its energy in the atmosphere the lifted mass of dust is larger than that in a typical dust devil and could trigger local dust storms, For a 100-m-radius meteoroid the amount of injected dust is comparable with the tota! mass of a global dust storm.

Description: At the end of 1997, JPL initiated the Mars Balloon Validation Program (MABVAP) to develop and validate the technology needed for a Mars balloon mission. The main focus of MABVAP was to develop and to test a viable concept for the Martian balloon that could be implemented on the small-scale dedicated or piggy-back mission.

Description: Reduced pressure thermal analysis measurements of the phyllosilicates kaolinite and nontronite were taken to observe the effect of pressure on their thermal curves. This is part of the database for the TEGA instrument. Additional information is contained in the original extended abstract.

Description: Chemical and (oxygen) isotopic compositions of SNC meteorites have been used by a number of workers to infer the nature of precursor materials for the accretion of Mars. The idea that chondritic materials played a key role in the formation of Mars has been the central assumption in these works. Wanke and Dreibus have proposed a mixture of two types of chondritic materials, differing in oxygen fugacity but having CI type bulk chemical composition for the nonvolatile elements, for Mars' precursor. But a number of studies based on high pressure and temperature melting experiments do not favor a CI type bulk planet composition for Mars, as it predicts a bulk planet Fe/Si ratio much higher than that reported from the recent Pathfinder data. Oxygen forms the bulk of Mars (approximately 40% by wt.) and might provide clues to the type of materials that formed Mars. But models based on the oxygen isotopic compositions of SNC meteorites predict three different mixtures of precursor materials for Mars: 90% H + 10% CM, 85% H + 11% CV + 4% CI and 45% EH + 55% H. As each of these models has been shown to be consistent with the bulk geophysical properties (such as mean density, and moment of inertia factor) of Mars, the nature of the material that accreted to form Mars remains ambiguous.

Description: On December 18, 1999, the Terra satellite was launched with a complement of five instruments including the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). Many geophysical products are derived from MODIS data including global snow-cover products. MODIS snow and ice products have been available through the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) Distributed Active Archive Center (DAAC) since September 13, 2000. MODIS snow-cover products represent potential improvement to or enhancement of the currently-available operational products mainly because the MODIS products are global and 500-m resolution, and have the capability to separate most snow and clouds. Also the snow-mapping algorithms are automated which means that a consistent data set may be generated for long-term climate studies that require snow-cover information. Extensive quality assurance (QA) information is stored with the products. The MODIS snow product suite begins with a 500-m resolution, 2330-km swath snow-cover map which is then gridded to an integerized sinusoidal grid to produce daily and 8-day composite tile products. The sequence proceeds to a climate-modeling grid (CMG) product at about 5.6-km spatial resolution, with both daily and 8-day composite products. Each pixel of the CMG contains fraction of snow cover from 40 - 100%. Measured errors of commission in the CMG are low, for example, on the continent of Australia in the spring, they vary from 0.02 - 0.10%. Near-term enhancements include daily snow albedo and fractional snow cover. A case study from March 6, 2000, involving MODIS data and field and aircraft measurements, is presented to show some early validation work.

Description: Recent bistatic measurements of the lunar radar cross-section have extended the spectrum to long radio wavelength. We have utilized the HF Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) radar facility near Gakona, Alaska to transmit high power pulses at 8.075 MHz to the Moon; the echo pulses were received onboard the NASA/WIND spacecraft by the WAVES HF receiver. This lunar radar experiment follows our previous use of earth-based HF radar with satellites to conduct space experiments. The spacecraft was approaching the Moon for a scheduled orbit perturbation when our experiment of 13 September 2001 was conducted. During the two-hour experiment, the radial distance of the satellite from the Moon varied from 28 to 24 Rm, where Rm is in lunar radii.

Description: It is well recognized that interpretations of Mars must begin with the Earth as a reference. The most successful comparisons have focused on understanding geologic processes on the Earth well enough to extrapolate to Mars' environment. Several facets of terrestrial analog studies have been pursued and are continuing.

Description: This paper describes the selection criteria, design and performance of three battery systems on 2003 MER mission.

Description: A new rolling contact tribometer based on a planar thrust bearing geometry is described. The bearing 'races' are flat plates that drive a ball into a near-circular, spiral path. The spiraling ball is returned to its initial radius each revolution around the race by a 'guide plate' backed by a force transducer. The motions of the ball are analyzed and the force exerted by the ball on the guide plate is related to the friction coefficient of the system. The experimental characteristics of the system are presented and the system is shown to exhibit the behavior expected for a tribometer.