IN THIS PROPOSED WORK WE WILL EXTRACT NOVEL CHEMICAL INFORMATION REGARDING THE COMPOSITION AND ISOTOPIC RATIOS WITHIN VENUS CLOUDS AEROSOLS AND LOWER ATMOSPHERE THROUGH REASSESSMENT OF ARCHIVED DATA OBTAINED BY THE PIONEER VENUS LARGE PROBE NEUTRAL MASS SPECTROMETER (LNMS). WE RECENTLY REPORTED ON THE RE-ASSESSMENT OF MASS DATA OBTAINED BY THE LNMS ACROSS THE UPPER AND MIDDLE CLOUDS USING A PEAK-FITTING MODEL AND IDENTIFIED SEVERAL NOVEL AND KNOWN CHEMICAL SPECIES INCLUSIVE OF PHOSPHINE HYDROGEN SULFIDE NITROUS ACID NITRIC ACID CARBON MONOXIDE WATER HYDROCHLORIC ACID HYDROGEN CYANIDE ETHANE AND POTENTIALLY OXYGEN AMMONIA AND CHLOROUS ACID. ACCORDINGLY WE PROPOSE TO EXPAND THIS PEAK-FITTING MODEL TO OBTAIN COMPOSITIONAL AND ISOTOPIC TRENDS ACROSS THE FULL DESCENT PROFILE OF THE LNMS WHICH COLLECTED 38 SPECTRA (AT 70 EV) BETWEEN THE ALTITUDES OF 64.2 TO 0.9 KM. THE OBJECTIVES OF THIS WORK THEREFORE WILL BE TO IDENTIFY AND CHARACTERIZE (1) TRACE AND MINOR ATMOSPHERIC SPECIES THAT POINT TO MIXING REDOX AND/OR OTHER DISEQUILIBRIA ACROSS THE CLOUDS AND LOWER ATMOSPHERE (2) THE CHEMICAL CONTENTS OF THE CLOUD-BASED AEROSOLS WHICH MAY CONTAIN ORGANIC CARBON AND PARTLY NEUTRALIZED SULFURIC ACID (3) THE ALTITUDE-DEPENDENT SPECIATION OF OXYSULFUR OXYPHOSPHORUS AND OXYNITROGEN SPECIES IN THE LOWER ATMOSPHERE AND (4) CHEMICALS THAT ARE POTENTIALLY OUT-GASSED FROM VENUS SURFACE. TOGETHER THE ANTICIPATED SURFACE-TO-CLOUD RELATIONSHIPS EXTRACTED FROM THESE RESULTS MAY HARBOR THE POTENTIAL TO RESHAPE OUR CURRENT UNDERSTANDING OF THE CHEMISTRY ACROSS VENUS ATMOSPHERE.
$35,000FY2021National Aeronautics and Space AdministrationNASA
Blue Marble Space, Clayton DE