A Carbonaceous Chondrite Based Simulant of Phobos

• Main Authors: Wilson, S., Patel, Manish, Edmunson, J., Rickman, Douglas L., Pearson, V.
• Format: Other/Unknown Material
• Language: unknown
• Published: 2016
• Subjects: Lunar and Planetary Science and Exploration; Tagish; Tagish Lake
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20160005068

In support of an ESA-funded concept study considering a sample return mission, a simulant of the Martian moon Phobos was needed. There are no samples of the Phobos regolith, therefore none of the four characteristics normally used to design a simulant are explicitly known for Phobos. Because of this, specifications for a Phobos simulant were based on spectroscopy, other remote measurements, and judgment. A composition based on the Tagish Lake meteorite was assumed. The requirement that sterility be achieved, especially given the required organic content, was unusual and problematic. The final design mixed JSC-1A, antigorite, pseudo-agglutinates and gilsonite. Sterility was achieved by radiation in a commercial facility.