abstract: Water is a critical resource for future human missions, and is necessary for understanding the evolution of the Solar System. The Moon and Mars have water in various forms and are therefore high-priority targets in the search for accessible extraterrestrial water. Complementary remote sensing analyses coupled with laboratory and field studies are necessary to provide a scientific context for future lunar and Mars exploration. In this thesis, I use multiple techniques to investigate the presence of water-ice at the lunar poles and the properties of martian chloride minerals, whose evolution is intricately linked with liquid water. Permanently shadowed regions (PSRs) at the lunar poles may contain substantial water ice, but radar signatures at PSRs could indicate water ice or large block populations. Mini-RF radar and Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera Narrow Angle Camera (LROC NAC) products were used to assess block abundances where radar signatures indicated potential ice deposits. While the majority of PSRs in this study indicated large block populations and a low likelihood of water ice, one crater – Rozhdestvenskiy N – showed indirect indications of water ice in its interior. Chloride deposits indicate regions where the last substantial liquid water existed on Mars. Major ion abundances and expected precipitation sequences of terrestrial chloride brines could provide context for assessing the provenance of martian chloride deposits. Chloride minerals are most readily distinguished in the far-infrared (45+ μm), where their fundamental absorption features are strongest. Multiple chloride compositions and textures were characterized in far-infrared emission for the first time. Systematic variations in the spectra were observed; these variations will allow chloride mineralogy to be determined and large variations in texture to be constrained. In the present day, recurring slope lineae (RSL) may indicate water flow, but fresh water is not stable on Mars. However, dissolved chloride could allow liquid water to flow transiently. Using Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) data, I determined that RSL are most likely not fed by chloride-rich brines on Mars. Substantial amounts of salt would be consumed to produce a surface water flow; therefore, these features are therefore thought to instead be surface darkening due to capillary wicking. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Geological Sciences 2017

abstract: Planetary surface studies across a range of spatial scales are key to interpreting modern and ancient operative processes and to meeting strategic mission objectives for robotic planetary science exploration. At the meter-scale and below, planetary regolith conducts heat at a rate that depends on the physical properties of the regolith particles, such as particle size, sorting, composition, and shape. Radiometric temperature measurements thus provide the means to determine regolith properties and rock abundance from afar. However, heat conduction through a matrix of irregular particles is a complicated physical system that is strongly influenced by temperature and atmospheric gas pressure. A series of new regolith thermal conductivity experiments were conducted under realistic planetary surface pressure and temperature conditions. A new model is put forth to describe the radiative, solid, and gaseous conduction terms of regolith on Earth, Mars, and airless bodies. These results will be used to infer particle size distribution from temperature measurements of the primitive asteroid Bennu to aid in OSIRIS-REx sampling site selection. Moving up in scale, fluvial processes are extremely influential in shaping Earth's surface and likely played an influential role on ancient Mars. Amphitheater-headed canyons are found on both planets, but conditions necessary for their development have been debated for many years. A spatial analysis of canyon form distribution with respect to local stratigraphy at the Escalante River and on Tarantula Mesa, Utah, indicates that canyon distribution is most closely related to variations in local rock strata, rather than groundwater spring intensity or climate variations. This implies that amphitheater-headed canyons are not simple markers of groundwater seepage erosion or megaflooding. Finally, at the largest scale, volcanism has significantly altered the surface characteristics of Earth and Mars. A field campaign was conducted in Hawaii to investigate the December 1974 Kilauea lava flow, where it was found that lava coils formed in an analogous manner to those found in Athabasca Valles, Mars. The location and size of the coils may be used as indicators of local effusion rate, viscosity, and crustal thickness. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Geological Sciences 2018

abstract: Many planetary science missions study thermophysical properties of surfaces using infrared spectrometers and infrared cameras. Thermal inertia is a frequently derived thermophysical property that quantifies the ability for heat to exchange through planetary surfaces. To conceptualize thermal inertia, the diffusion equation analogies are extended using a general effusivity term: the square root of a product of conductivity and capacity terms. A hypothetical thermal inductance was investigated for diurnal planetary heating. The hyperbolic heat diffusion equation was solved to derive an augmented thermal inertia. The hypothetical thermal inductance was modeled with negligible effect on Mars. Extending spectral performance of infrared cameras was desired for colder bodies in the outer solar system where peak infrared emission is at longer wavelengths. The far-infrared response of an infrared microbolometer array with a retrofitted diamond window was determined using an OSIRIS-REx—OTES interferometer. An instrument response function of the diamond interferometer-microbolometer system shows extended peak performance from 15 µm out to 20 µm and 40% performance to at least 30 µm. The results are folded into E-THEMIS for the NASA flagship mission: Europa Clipper. Infrared camera systems are desired for the expanding smallsat community that can inherit risk and relax performance requirements. The Thermal-camera for Exploration, Science, and Imaging Spacecraft (THESIS) was developed for the Prox-1 microsat mission. THESIS, incorporating 2001 Mars Odyssey—THEMIS experience, consists of an infrared camera, a visible camera, and an instrument computer. THESIS was planned to provide images for demonstrating autonomous proximity operations between two spacecraft, verifying deployment of the Planetary Society’s LightSail-B, and conducting remote sensing of Earth. Prox-1—THESIS was selected as the finalist for the competed University Nanosatellite Program-7 and was awarded a launch on the maiden commercial SpaceX Falcon Heavy. THESIS captures 8-12 µm IR images with 100 mm optics and RGB color images with 25 mm optics. The instrument computer was capable of instrument commanding, automatic data processing, image storage, and telemetry recording. The completed THESIS has a mass of 2.04 kg, a combined volume of 3U, and uses 7W of power. THESIS was designed, fabricated, integrated, and tested in ASU’s 100K clean lab. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Geological Sciences 2018

abstract: In this thesis I model the thermal and structural evolution of Kuiper Belt Objects (KBOs) and explore their ability to retain undifferentiated crusts of rock and ice over geologic timescales. Previous calculations by Desch et al. (2009) predicted that initially homogenous KBOs comparable in size to Charon (R ~ 600 km) have surfaces too cold to permit the separation of rock and ice, and should always retain thick (~ 85 km) crusts, despite the partial differentiation of rock and ice inside the body. The retention of a thermally insulating, undifferentiated crust is favorable to the maintenance of subsurface liquid and potentially cryovolcanism on the KBO surface. A potential objection to these models is that the dense crust of rock and ice overlying an ice mantle represents a gravitationally unstable configuration that should overturn by Rayleigh-Taylor (RT) instabilities. I have calculated the growth rate of RT instabilities at the ice-crust interface, including the effect of rock on the viscosity. I have identified a critical ice viscosity for the instability to grow significantly over the age of the solar system. I have calculated the viscosity as a function of temperature for conditions relevant to marginal instability. I find that RT instabilities on a Charon-sized KBO require temperatures T > 143 K. Including this effect in thermal evolution models of KBOs, I find that the undifferentiated crust on KBOs is thinner than previously calculated, only ~ 50 km. While thinner, this crustal thickness is still significant, representing ~ 25% of the KBO mass, and helps to maintain subsurface liquid throughout most of the KBO's history. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S. Astrophysics 2013

abstract: Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) and MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) spacecraft missions provide new data for investigating the youngest impact craters on Mercury and the Moon, along with lunar volcanic end-members: ancient silicic and young basaltic volcanism. The LRO Wide Angle Camera (WAC) and Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) in-flight absolute radiometric calibration used ground-based Robotic Lunar Observatory and Hubble Space Telescope data as standards. In-flight radiometric calibration is a small aspect of the entire calibration process but an important improvement upon the pre-flight measurements. Calibrated reflectance data are essential for comparing images from LRO to missions like MESSENGER, thus enabling science through engineering. Relative regolith optical maturation rates on Mercury and the Moon are estimated by comparing young impact crater densities and impact ejecta reflectance, thus empirically testing previous models of faster rates for Mercury relative to the Moon. Regolith maturation due to micrometeorite impacts and solar wind sputtering modies UV-VIS-NIR surface spectra, therefore understanding maturation rates is critical for interpreting remote sensing data from airless bodies. Results determined the regolith optical maturation rate on Mercury is 2 to 4 times faster than on the Moon. The Gruithuisen Domes, three lunar silicic volcanoes, represent relatively rare lunar lithologies possibly similar to rock fragments found in the Apollo sample collection. Lunar nonmare silicic volcanism has implications for lunar magmatic evolution. I estimated a rhyolitic composition using morphologic comparisons of the Gruithuisen Domes, measured from NAC 2-meter-per-pixel digital topographic models (DTMs), with terrestrial silicic dome morphologies and laboratory models of viscoplastic dome growth. Small, morphologically sharp irregular mare patches (IMPs) provide evidence for recent lunar volcanism widely distributed across the nearside lunar maria, which has implications for long-lived nearside magmatism. I identified 75 IMPs (100-5000 meters in dimension) in NAC images and DTMs, and determined stratigraphic relationships between units common to all IMPs. Crater counts give model ages from 18-58 Ma, and morphologic comparisons with young lunar features provided an additional age constraint of <100 Ma. The IMPs formed as low-volume basaltic eruptions significantly later than previous evidence of lunar mare basalt volcanism's end (1-1.2 Ga). / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Geological Sciences 2013

abstract: Impact craters are ubiquitous throughout the Solar System, formed by one of the principal processes responsible for surface modification of terrestrial planets and solid bodies (i.e., asteroids, icy moons). The impact cratering process is well studied, particularly on the Moon and Mercury, where the results remain uncomplicated by atmospheric effects, plate tectonics, or interactions with water and ices. Crater measurements, used to determine relative and absolute ages for geologic units by relating the cumulative crater frequency per unit area to radiometrically-determined ages from returned samples, are sensitive to the solar incidence angle of images used for counts. Earlier work is quantitatively improved by investigating this important effect and showing that absolute model ages are most accurately determined using images with incidence angles between 65&deg; and 80&deg;, and equilibrium crater diameter estimates are most accurate at ~80&deg; incidence angle. A statistical method is developed using crater size-frequencies to distinguish lunar mare age units in the absence of spectral differences. Applied to the Moon, the resulting areal crater densities confidently identify expansive units with >300&ndash;500 my age differences, distinguish non-obvious secondaries, and determine that an area >1&times;104 km2 provides statistically robust crater measurements. This areal crater density method is also applied to the spectrally-homogeneous volcanic northern smooth plains (NSP) on Mercury. Although crater counts and observations of embayed craters indicate that the NSP experienced at least two resurfacing episodes, no observable age units are observed using areal crater density measurements, so smooth plains emplacement occurred over a relatively short timescale (<500 my). For the first time, the distribution of impact melt on Mercury and the Moon are compared at high resolution. Mercurian craters with diameters &ge;30 km have a greater areal extent of interior melt deposits than similarly sized lunar craters, a result consistent with melt-generation model predictions. The effects of shaking on compositional sorting within a granular regolith are experimentally tested, demonstrating the possibility of mechanical segregation of particles in the lunar regolith. These results provide at least one explanation toward understanding the inconsistencies between lunar remote sensing datasets and are important for future spacecraft sample return missions. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Geological Sciences 2013

Vénus, bien que de taille et de masse très similaire à la Terre, se révèle en fait un monde infernaloù la température de surface atteint 700 K et la pression s’élève à 92 bars. De plus, l’atmosphèreest principalement composée de dioxyde de carbone (à plus de 90 %). Bien que le corps solide aitune période de rotation très lente et rétrograde, l’atmosphère est elle en superrotation avec unepériode de quatre jours environ au sommet des nuages, avec des vents zonaux pouvant atteindre100 m/s. Observée dans le visible, Vénus ne laisse pas voir sa surface, cachée sous d’épais nuagesd’acide sulfurique qui couvrent en permanence l’intégralité de la planète. Ces nuages jouent unrôle très important dans l’atmosphère vénusienne car ils sont fondamentaux dans le bilan radiatifde la planète de par leur opacité et leur albédo élevé mais aussi dans les cycles chimiques denombreuses espèces, notamment celui du soufre.Arrivée en orbite en avril 2006, la mission européenne Venus Express avait pour objectif d’étudieren détail l’atmosphère de la planète. Parmi ses instruments se trouvait le spectromètre SPICAVdont le canal infrarouge permettait de mesurer le degré de polarisation linéaire de la lumièrediffusée par les nuages. Cette thèse vise à l’exploitation de données acquises par SPICAV-IR quia fonctionné jusqu’à la fin de la mission Venus Express en 2014. Nous présentons la planète Vénuset plus particulièrement les propriétés des nuages qui l’entourent. Nous nous intéresseronsà la polarisation produite par la diffusion de la lumière dans les nuages avant d’expliquer commentSPICAV-IR la mesure. Nous présentons notre modèle de transfert de rayonnement prenanten compte la polarisation et nous analyserons les gloires observées par SPICAV-IR afin de caractériserles propriétés des nuages. Enfin, nous nous intéresserons à la variabilité spatiale des brumessituées au dessus des nuages. / Venus is quite similar to Earth in terms of mass and radius, but it appears to be a hellish planetwith surface temperature reaching 700 K and pressions up to 92 bars. The atmosphere is mostlycomposed of carbon dioxyde and despite a slow retrograde rotating solid body, the atmosphereis in superrotation with a period of about four days and zonal winds reaching 100 m/s at cloudtop level. In visible light, the surface is always hidden by thick decks of clouds mostly madeof sulfuric acid. These clouds are very important in venusian climate as they play a key role inthe radiative balance of the planet because of their opacity and their high albedo and also in thechemical cycles of sulfur especially.In orbit since 2006, the European space agency’s probe Venus Express had the objective tostudy the atmosphere and clouds of Venus. Amongst its instruments was the SPICAV spectrometerwhich infrared channel had the ability to measure the degree of linear polarisation fromthe light scattered by the clouds. This thesis aims to study these observations acquired by SPICAVIRuntil the end of the mission in 2014.We will introduce the planet Venus with a particular focuson the cloud layers. We will then cover the principles of the polarisation of light through scatteringby cloud particles before we introduce the measurement of polarization by our instrument.We also introduce the radiative transfer model taking into account polarization and apply it tothe observations of a phenomenon called glory which allows to characterize the properties of thecloud droplets. We will then invesigate the variability of the haze layers lying above the maincloud deck.

abstract: This study explores how bulk composition and oxygen fugacity (fO2) affect the partitioning of sulfur between the molten mantle and core of an early planetesimal. The model can be used to determine the range of potential sulfur concentrations in the asteroid (16) Psyche, which is the target of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration/Arizona State University Psyche Mission. This mission will be our visit to an M-type asteroid, thought to be dominantly metallic. The model looks at how oxygen fugacity (fO2), bulk composition, temperature, and pressure affect sulfur partitioning in planetesimals using experimentally derived equations from previous studies. In this model, the bulk chemistry and oxygen fugacity of the parent body is controlled by changing the starting material, using ordinary chondrites (H, L, LL) and carbonaceous chondrites (CM, CI, CO, CK, CV). The temperature of the planetesimal is changed from 1523 K to 1873 K, the silicate mobilization and total melting temperatures, respectively; and pressure from 0.1 to 20 GPa, the core mantle boundary pressures of Vesta and Mars, respectively. The final sulfur content of a differentiated planetesimal core is strongly dependent on the bulk composition of the original parent body. In all modeled cores, the sulfur content is above 5 weight percent sulfur; this is the point at which the least amount of other light elements is needed to form an immiscible sulfide liquid in a molten core. Early planetesimal cores likely formed an immiscible sulfide liquid, a eutectic sulfide liquid, or potentially were composed of mostly troilite, FeS. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Geological Sciences 2020

L’analyse de la surface par des moyens spatiaux des objets du Système Solaire permet de remonter aux processus géologiques, géochimiques et climatiques qui s’y sont déroulés. La microscopie hyperspectrale dans le proche infrarouge, de par sa faculté à analyser la composition moléculaire et minéralogique d’un échantillon à l’échelle des grains, est une technique novatrice dans le cadre de la planétologie, amenée à compléter les mesures effectuées depuis l’orbite et celles des autres instruments d'analyse in situ. Les développements techniques récents liés aux détecteurs matriciels dans le proche infrarouge, aux machines cryogéniques de dimension et masse réduites, ainsi qu’aux systèmes dispersifs nous donnent désormais la capacité de développer des microscopes hyperspectraux compatibles en termes de masse, volume, puissance et télémétrie avec les contraintes fortes liées à un atterrisseur/rover. Le concept développé a ainsi donné naissance à l’instrument MicrOmega, sélectionné pour faire partie de la charge utile Pasteur du rover ExoMars de l'ESA. Mon travail de thèse s'est tout d'abord fixé pour objectif d'étudier l'extension de la gamme spectrale de l'instrument vers l'infrarouge au-delà de 2.5 µm afin d'identifier et de caractériser d'éventuels composés carbonés ; j'ai procédé à l'analyse des conséquences de cette extension sur la conception de l'instrument. Les résultats de ces études ont permis de faire évoluer le design et les spécifications de l'instrument MicrOmega pour ExoMars. Mon implication dans la préparation de cette mission m'ont conduit à développer des algorithmes de détection automatiques de composés spécifiques au sein d'un échantillon, de manière à coupler les mesures de MicrOmega avec celles du spectromètre RAMAN RLS et du laser à désorption de MOMA, permettant ainsi d'accroître la synergie entre les instruments de la charge utile.Au cours de ma thèse, le décalage du lancement de la mission Phobos Grunt a permis de proposer d'y adjoindre un modèle de MicrOmega ; j'ai ainsi pu participer à l'ensemble des phases de développement d'un modèle de vol de MicrOmega, de sa conception initiale à l'étalonnage final. Suite à ce développement, une autre mission d'opportunité est apparue, à laquelle j'ai également été associé : l'instrument MicrOmega a été sélectionné pour la mission Hayabusa-2, destinée à l'analyse in situ d'un astéroïde-C. / The characterization of the surface of planetary objects, through space observations, gives key clues to the past and present geological, geochemical and climate processes. Near-infrared hyperspectral microscopy, through its capability to identify the molecular and mineralogical composition of a sample at its grain size, is an innovative technique that will efficiently complement both remote sensing and in situ measurements. Recent technical achievements in near-infrared detectors, space cryo-coolers and dispersive systems, has enabled us to design MicrOmega, a highly miniaturized near-infrared hyperspectral microscope, to be implemented on landers/rovers: it has been selected within the Pasteur payload of the ESA ExoMars rover, with launch scheduled for 2018.My thesis activity started with the study of the extension of the spectral range beyond 2.5 µm, driven by the goal of identifying and characterizing potential organic compounds, and with the analysis of the impact on the instrument design of such an extension. The outcomes were used to set the MicrOmega / ExoMars instrument baseline. My involvement in this program included the development of algorithms enabling, in an automated way, the identification and the location, within the analyzed samples, of compounds with specific composition; it will be used both to limit the amount of information to be downloaded, and to indicate key targets for point analyzers, such as the Raman spectrometer RLS and the laser desorption spectrometer MOMA, thus increasing the synergy between the suite of ExoMars laboratory instruments. During my thesis, the shift of the launch of the Phobos Grunt mission opened the possibility to develop and deliver a flight model of MicrOmega, in less than two years; I thus have been involved in all steps of its development, from its design to its final calibration. As a follow-up, another mission of opportunity emerged, to which I have also been associated: MicrOmega has been selected as part of the Hayabusa-2 mission, which will in situ analyze a C-type asteroid.

L’origine de la matière de la Terre primitive est un important sujet de recherche en planétologie. Cette thèse présente une étude expérimentale de la formation de composés organiques dans l’atmosphère de la Terre primitive en étudiant la réactivité de mélanges gazeux majoritairement composé de N2 et CO2. Ils présentent une importante réactivité se traduisant par la formation de produits gazeux et solides, appelés tholins. La formation de ces produits met en avant l’efficacité de CO2 comme source de carbone pour la croissance organique atmosphérique. L’identification des produits gazeux et l’analyse élémentaire des tholins ont montré qu’ils étaient constitués de C, N, H et O, soulignant un couplage efficace entre la chimie de ces éléments nécessaire à la formation de composés d’intérêts prébiotiques. Ce type d’étude a été appliqué ensuite à Titan qui a une atmophère plus réduite,faite de N2 et CH4, mais contient des traces d’espèces oxygénées, majoriatirement CO. L’ajout de CO au mélange réactif induit également un couplage entre la chimie de l’O et la chimie C, N, H considérée habituellement pour Titan. Enfin je propose et étudie expériemntalement deux phénomènes suseptibles de modifier la composition des aérosols de Titan durant leur sédimentation vers la surface. Premièrement une exposition de tholins aux photons VUV caractéristique de la thermosphère de Titan et qui induit une diminution sélective des fonctions amines en faveurs des fonctions aliphatiques. Deuxièmement une irradiation par des photons UV d’espèces condensées à la surface de tholins et qui induit une réactivité de l’espèce en interaction avec les tholins, modifiant sa composition chimique. / The origin of the organic matter on the early Earth is an important subject of research in planetology. This thesis presents an experimental study of the formation of organic compounds in the atmosphere of the early Earth investigating the reactivity of gaseous mixtures majority made of N2 and CO2. They present an important reactivity highlighted by the formation of gaseous products and solid products called tholins. The formation of these products points out CO2 as an efficiency source of carbon for the organic atmospheric growth. The identification of the gaseous products and the elemental analysis of the tholins showed a composition by C, N, H and O highlighting an efficiency coupling between the chemistry of these elements necessary for the formation of prebiotic compounds. This type of study have been applied then toTitan, which have a more reduced atmosphere, made of N2 and CH4, but, which contained also oxygenated trace species: principally CO. The addition of CO in the reactive medium involves also a coupling between the chemistry of O and the C, N, H chemistry currently considered for Titan. Finally I propose and investigate experimentally two phenomena, which may involve a chemical evolution of the aerosols of Titan during their sedimentation to the surface. First, an exposition of tholins to VUV photons, characteristic of the thermosphere of Titan, involves a selective depletion of amines function in favor of aliphatic functions. Second, an irradiation by UV photons of condensed species at the surface of tholins involves a reactivity of the solid species in interaction with the tholins, changing their chemical composition.