Carlos I Calle - Electrostatic Phenomena on Planetary Surfaces

Carlos I Calle

Senior Research Scientist
NASA Kennedy Space Center, USA

Morgan & Claypool Publishers

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ISBN 978-1-6817-4477-3 (ebook)
ISBN 978-1-6817-4476-6 (print)
ISBN 978-1-6817-4479-7 (mobi)

DOI 10.1088/978-1-6817-4477-3

Version: 20170201

IOP Concise Physics
ISSN 2053-2571 (online)
ISSN 2054-7307 (print)

A Morgan & Claypool publication as part of IOP Concise Physics
Published by Morgan & Claypool Publishers, 40 Oak Drive, San Rafael, CA, 94903 USA

IOP Publishing, Temple Circus, Temple Way, Bristol BS1 6HG, UK

To my grandson Liam

Our knowledge of planetary environments has increased considerably as a result of the planetary exploration missions that NASA primarily along with ESA and other space agencies has launched in recent decades. Electrostatic phenomena occurring on the solar system bodies are among the most important ones to consider, as they affect the weather in planets and moons with atmospheres and the physical properties of the surfaces on planets and moons lacking an atmosphere. These phenomena are not completely understood even on Earth. Data on electrostatic phenomena from recent missions are currently being analyzed and results are being published and discussed in scientific journals and at conferences.

My aim with this concise book is to provide an overall understanding of the different aspects of electrostatic phenomena as they occur on planetary atmospheres and surfaces, to show the reader what is known in this important field, what is expected from planned exploration missions, and what the big unknowns are. I have included numerous references at the end of each chapter to guide further research into this field.

The idea for this concise book on electrostatic phenomena on planetary surfaces came from Nicki Dennis at Morgan & Claypool and Institute of Physics joint publishing. I am indebted to her. I would also like to thank Dr Jos Nuez at NASA Kennedy Space Center for his support of this work.

I would like to acknowledge the valuable contributions to our work on electrostatic phenomena on the Moon and Mars by the research team at the NASA Kennedy Space Center Electrostatics and Surface Physics Laboratory. Their work has led to the development of several electrostatics-based technologies for NASAs planetary exploration missions. I would like to acknowledge in particular Dr Charles Buhler, Dr Sid Clements, Paul Mackey, Dr Michael Hogue, Dr James Mantovani, Michael Johansen, Ellen Arens, James Phillips III, and Rachel Cox. Finally, I would like to thank Dr Luz Marina Calle, my wife and fellow NASA scientist. She has always been a wonderful sounding board during my research and writing endeavors.

Carlos I Calle

Carlos I Calle is a senior research scientist at NASA Kennedy Space Center and is founder and head of the Electrostatics and Surface Physics Laboratory. He is currently working on the problem of electrostatic phenomena of granular and bulk material as they apply to planetary surfaces, particularly that of Mars, developing instrumentation for future planetary exploration missions. He has over 150 scientific publications, four books, and several patents.

Dr Calle received the NASA Exceptional Technological Achievement Medal in 2010, the NASA Spaceflight Awareness Award in 2003 for his outstanding contributions to the space program, and the NASA Silver Snoopy Award in 2007 for his exceptional contributions to human spaceflight.

Other books by Carlos I Calle:

• Superstrings and Other Things: A Guide to Physics 2nd edn (London: CRC Press/Taylor & Francis) 660 pp (2009)
  • French edition: Supercordes et Autres Ficelles: A Voyage au Coeur de la Physique (Paris : Dunod) 608 pp (2004)
• The Universe, Order Without Design (Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books) (2009)
• Coffee With Einstein (London: Duncan Baird Publishers) 150 pp (2007)
  • German edition: Auf einen Kaffee mit Einstein (Munich: Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag) (2009)
  • French edition: Un caf avec Einstein (Paris: Grnd) (2008)
  • Turkish edition: Hayali Syleiler: Einstein (Istanbul: Kolektif Kitap) (2012)
  • Chinese edition: (Beijing: Wang Zheng Heilongjiang University Press) (2013)
• Einstein for Dummies (Hoboken, NJ: Wiley) 374 pp (2005)
  • Dutch edition: Einstein voor Dummies (Amsterdam: Addison-Wesley) (2005)
  • Spanish edition: Einstein para Dummies (Bogota: Grupo Editorial Norma) (2006)
  • Serbian edition: Aintajn za neupuene (Banja Luka: Mikro knjiga) (2006)

The diverse planetary environments in the Solar System react in somewhat different ways to the encompassing influence of the Sun. These different interactions define the electrostatic phenomena that take place on and near planetary surfaces. The desire to understand the electrostatic environments of planetary surfaces goes beyond scientific inquiry. These environments have enormous implications for both human and robotic exploration of the Solar System.

In Solar System bodies with an atmosphere, electrostatic phenomena are determined by the physical and chemical properties of those atmospheres. Atmospheric pressure and density, as well as composition, govern the way objects acquire, hold on to, and release electrostatic charge. The transfer of electric charge from an object to another can happen in different ways. If the transfer is fast, as in electrical breakdown, lightning can occur. In addition to Earth, lightning has been detected on Jupiter and Saturn. Recent atmospheric models predict that lightning should also occur on Venus, Mars, and on Saturns moon Titan. Despite several efforts to detect lightning on these bodies with instrumentation aboard spacecraft, the question remains open. Electrostatic discharges have been detected from Uranus and Neptune, although it is not known if those discharges are caused by lightning.

When the charge transfer is slow, a glow discharge known as a corona can take place. These corona discharges occur on Earth and may also occur on Venus, Mars, Titan, and the three giant planets.

The most extensively studied electrostatic environment is clearly that of the Earth. The Earths magnetosphere, produced by the interaction of the solar wind with the planets magnetic field, controls the electrostatic charge content of the atmosphere. The magnetosphere slows down, deflects, and traps many solar wind particles. These trapped particles form the doughnut-shaped regions called Van Allen radiation belts, a nearly impenetrable barrier that prevents the most energetic electrons from reaching the Earths atmosphere.