Experimental Constraints on Deliquescence of Calcium Perchlorate Mixed with a Mars Regolith Analog

Abstract

Hygroscopic salts within the Martian regolith may actively participate in the near-surface water cycle by exchanging water vapor via solid-state salt hydration and deliquescence. To elucidate this process, experimental work has constrained the phase diagram of Mars-relevant salts and the stability of the resultant brines. However, salt interactions with a Mars-like regolith, which itself can exchange water vapor with the atmosphere via adsorption, has not yet been well explored. Here, to better understand water exchange with a salty Mars-like regolith and, particularly, the potential to form brines, we have conducted a series of experiments using JSC Mars-1 regolith simulant mixed with calcium perchlorate in a Mars simulation chamber at a temperature <5°C and a relative humidity <20%. During the experiments, we measured the sample mass, as well as the temperature and relative humidity of the sample and the chamber. We found that the water uptake of a salty Mars-like regolith is about twice as fast as that of a salt-free regolith. Furthermore, we found evidence to suggest that deliquescence occurred; however, not all the salt within the sample may have entered solution. The amount of water in solution was small and did not lead to regolith darkening. Our results suggest that, under the tested experimental conditions, salt deliquescence and regolith adsorption can occur simultaneously.