\u201cOur cryogenic Astrophysical Ice Laboratory setup enables us to study materials down to minus 300 degrees through imaging,\u201d Lindberg said. \u201cSamples will include mixtures of methane, ethane and nitrogen, along with trace species such as propane, ethylene and acetylene.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to understand how similar Titan is to early Earth and what is happening there today that is changing the surface,\u201d Hanley said.<\/p>\n
The team will examine how molecules react in a world that has an atmosphere 1.5 times denser than Earth\u2019s and intense pressure at lake depths of 600 feet. They will measure phase changes such as freezing, along with solubilities, using Raman spectroscopy, which determines vibrational modes of molecules.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen it freezes, water becomes less dense, so it floats,\u201d Lindberg said. \u201cBut this is not true of methane and ethane. We want to understand the density of these materials, especially when combined with trace amounts of other elements.\u201d<\/p>\n
Prior investigations have found that the freezing point of methane is lowered when mixed with nitrogen and\/or ethane. Preliminary work shows that propane can further disrupt the stability of the methane-ethane-nitrogen system.<\/p>\n
Experiments will be performed in a thin cylinder that has a window on two sides for observational purposes. The scientists will be able to capture pictures and videos.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith the simulations, we can make a movie of the molecules bouncing around,\u201d Lindberg said. \u201cWe can identify the molecules in the liquid and see how they coordinate with each other, how fast they are moving, whether they evaporate or not and see how different materials might separate under various conditions. We are interested to learn which molecules will drive the changes that we see\u2014how they behave at the interface between liquid and gas and how they freeze, evaporate and interact with light as it hits the surface.\u201d<\/p>\n
Understanding the stability of combinations of these molecules has implications for not only the lakes and seas on the surface of Titan, but also for the evaporation\/condensation\/cloud cycle in the atmosphere, as well as the stability of these chemical elements on other outer solar system bodies. The results are expected to guide current theoretical models and the interpretation of future observational data.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the major thrusts of the project is to try to understand what leads to the surface of bodies looking the way they do, especially when molecules are not doing the same things on Earth as they are elsewhere,\u201d Hanley said.<\/p>\n
The research is expected to be directly applicable to NASA\u2019s Solar System Workings objectives of characterizing and understanding the chemical, mineralogical and physical features of planetary surfaces and fluid inventories that interact with the surface. The knowledge gained through this research will contribute to the Dragonfly mission, which is expected to land on Titan in 2034 and whose goal is to advance the search for the building blocks of life.<\/p>\n
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