Regenerative water sources on surfaces of airless bodies
© 2019, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited. Spectroscopic signatures of water and hydroxyl radicals have been observed on the surfaces of asteroids1–3. As the lifetime of the exposed water ice is on the order of 104 to 106 yr in the inner asteroid belt4, there must be...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
NATURE RESEARCH
2020
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/90201 |
| _version_ | 1848765352394096640 |
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| author | Zhu, C. Góbi, S. Abplanalp, M.J. Frigge, R. Gillis-Davis, J.J. Dominguez, G. Miljkovic, Katarina Kaiser, R.I. |
| author_facet | Zhu, C. Góbi, S. Abplanalp, M.J. Frigge, R. Gillis-Davis, J.J. Dominguez, G. Miljkovic, Katarina Kaiser, R.I. |
| author_sort | Zhu, C. |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | © 2019, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited. Spectroscopic signatures of water and hydroxyl radicals have been observed on the surfaces of asteroids1–3. As the lifetime of the exposed water ice is on the order of 104 to 106 yr in the inner asteroid belt4, there must be mechanisms to replenish the water in the absence of recent ice-exposing processes. However, such regenerative water-ice sources on asteroids are still elusive. Here we perform laboratory experiments by exposing the samples of the Murchison meteorite to energetic electrons and laser irradiation, simulating, respectively, the secondary electrons generated by the solar wind as well as galactic cosmic ray particles and the micrometeorites impacting on an asteroid. We find that a single simulated space-weathering component is insufficient and both are needed to regenerate water at low temperatures at the desired timescales. We propose that two main mechanisms can be the source of surface water on asteroids: low-temperature oxidation of organics and mineral dehydration. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T11:33:53Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-90201 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T11:33:53Z |
| publishDate | 2020 |
| publisher | NATURE RESEARCH |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-902012023-02-20T04:48:09Z Regenerative water sources on surfaces of airless bodies Zhu, C. Góbi, S. Abplanalp, M.J. Frigge, R. Gillis-Davis, J.J. Dominguez, G. Miljkovic, Katarina Kaiser, R.I. Science & Technology Physical Sciences Astronomy & Astrophysics OPTICAL-CONSTANTS LASER IRRADIATION SOLAR-WIND SIMULATION RADIATION IMPACT ICE INTERSTELLAR TEMPERATURE DESORPTION © 2019, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited. Spectroscopic signatures of water and hydroxyl radicals have been observed on the surfaces of asteroids1–3. As the lifetime of the exposed water ice is on the order of 104 to 106 yr in the inner asteroid belt4, there must be mechanisms to replenish the water in the absence of recent ice-exposing processes. However, such regenerative water-ice sources on asteroids are still elusive. Here we perform laboratory experiments by exposing the samples of the Murchison meteorite to energetic electrons and laser irradiation, simulating, respectively, the secondary electrons generated by the solar wind as well as galactic cosmic ray particles and the micrometeorites impacting on an asteroid. We find that a single simulated space-weathering component is insufficient and both are needed to regenerate water at low temperatures at the desired timescales. We propose that two main mechanisms can be the source of surface water on asteroids: low-temperature oxidation of organics and mineral dehydration. 2020 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/90201 10.1038/s41550-019-0900-2 English NATURE RESEARCH restricted |
| spellingShingle | Science & Technology Physical Sciences Astronomy & Astrophysics OPTICAL-CONSTANTS LASER IRRADIATION SOLAR-WIND SIMULATION RADIATION IMPACT ICE INTERSTELLAR TEMPERATURE DESORPTION Zhu, C. Góbi, S. Abplanalp, M.J. Frigge, R. Gillis-Davis, J.J. Dominguez, G. Miljkovic, Katarina Kaiser, R.I. Regenerative water sources on surfaces of airless bodies |
| title | Regenerative water sources on surfaces of airless bodies |
| title_full | Regenerative water sources on surfaces of airless bodies |
| title_fullStr | Regenerative water sources on surfaces of airless bodies |
| title_full_unstemmed | Regenerative water sources on surfaces of airless bodies |
| title_short | Regenerative water sources on surfaces of airless bodies |
| title_sort | regenerative water sources on surfaces of airless bodies |
| topic | Science & Technology Physical Sciences Astronomy & Astrophysics OPTICAL-CONSTANTS LASER IRRADIATION SOLAR-WIND SIMULATION RADIATION IMPACT ICE INTERSTELLAR TEMPERATURE DESORPTION |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/90201 |