Water dynamics in minerals on the surface of Mars

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dc.contributor.authorIles, GNen_AU
dc.contributor.authorGates, Wen_AU
dc.contributor.authorMole, RAen_AU
dc.contributor.authorFehervariI, Aen_AU
dc.date.accessioned2023-05-04T05:58:50Zen_AU
dc.date.available2023-05-04T05:58:50Zen_AU
dc.date.issued2020-11-11en_AU
dc.date.statistics2023-04-21en_AU
dc.description.abstractWater was discovered 1.5 km below the surface of Mars in 2018 and some liquid water may occur transiently on the Martian surface in the spectrally dominant phyllosilicate group, smectite. In the same year, NASA confirmed that water ice is present in silicates on the surface of the Moon in the polar regions. This discovery has prompted the return of people to the Moon, whereby the Artemis program planned for 2024 will see the next man and the first woman land at the South Pole. The extraction of trapped and frozen water from minerals on other planetary bodies such as the Moon and Mars is a technical challenge if humanity is to implement an innovative and sustainable program of exploration enabling human expansion across the solar system. We have investigated the hydration properties of clays and minerals found on Mars using time-of-flight neutron spectroscopy. [1] From Quasi-Elastic Neutron Scattering data we determined water diffusion coefficients for input into our model to identify possible sites where the water resides in Na-smectites. Additional characterisation of montmorillonite has been conducted at the Australian Synchrotron facility using far-infrared radiation to obtain proportions of bound and unbound water in Na- and Ca-smectite. We observed the cation rattle at low energy (~45 cm-1) as a distinct signal from that of the bulk-like water and cationic bound water, where the latter is ‘trapped’ within the clay layers. [2,3] Understanding of water hydration processes in these abundant soils and minerals will be of use not just on other planetary bodies but also in extreme environments such as Antarctica. On Earth, knowledge of water dynamics at clay mineral surfaces can be utilised to improve performance and durability of lining materials for barriers used in environmental protection.en_AU
dc.identifier.citationIles, G., Gates, W., Mole, R., & FehervariI, A. (2020). Water dynamics in minerals on the surface of Mars. Paper presented to the ANBUG-AINSE Neutron Scattering Symposium, AANSS 2020, Virtual Meeting, 11th - 13th November 2020. (pp. 39). Retrieved from: https://events01.synchrotron.org.au/event/125/attachments/725/1149/AANSS_Abstract_Booklet_Complete_-_1_Page_Reduced.pdfen_AU
dc.identifier.conferenceenddate13 November 2020en_AU
dc.identifier.conferencenameANBUG-AINSE Neutron Scattering Symposium, AANSS 2020en_AU
dc.identifier.conferenceplaceVirtual Meetingen_AU
dc.identifier.conferencestartdate11 November 2020en_AU
dc.identifier.pagination39en_AU
dc.identifier.urihttps://events01.synchrotron.org.au/event/125/contributions/3736/en_AU
dc.identifier.urihttps://apo.ansto.gov.au/dspace/handle/10238/14977en_AU
dc.language.isoenen_AU
dc.publisherAustralian Institute of Nuclear Science and Engineering (AINSE)en_AU
dc.subjectWateren_AU
dc.subjectMars planeten_AU
dc.subjectSurfacesen_AU
dc.subjectSmectiteen_AU
dc.subjectNASAen_AU
dc.subjectIceen_AU
dc.subjectMoonen_AU
dc.subjectPolar regionsen_AU
dc.subjectMineralsen_AU
dc.subjectHydrationen_AU
dc.subjectDiffusionen_AU
dc.subjectScatteringen_AU
dc.titleWater dynamics in minerals on the surface of Marsen_AU
dc.typeConference Abstracten_AU
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