Abstract
Using five band orbital emissivity measurements in the 1 micron region has tremendous potential to provide global maps of Venus surface rock types. Combining this with 480°C laboratory measurement will poise Venus science for a dramatic improvement in understanding of surface geology and the formation and internal processes of Earth’s twin planet.
Highlights
Conventional remote sensing of the surface of Venus has long been considered to be impossible due to the thick, CO2-rich atmosphere
The VIRTIS and VMC instruments on the ESA mission Venus Express (VEX) was the first instrument to routinely map the surface of Venus using the near-infrared windows from orbit (Mueller et al, 2008; Helbert et al, 2008), followed by brief observations of the IR1 camera on the JAXA Akatsuki mission (Nakamura et al, 2016)
Three samples in this study were run as particulates: a sea sand, basalt (Hawaii fresh) and a granite (Maine), but the igneous rock particulates closely matched their compositional equivalents that were run as slabs
Summary
Conventional remote sensing of the surface of Venus has long been considered to be impossible due to the thick, CO2-rich atmosphere. The VIRTIS and VMC instruments on the ESA mission Venus Express (VEX) was the first instrument to routinely map the surface of Venus using the near-infrared windows from orbit (Mueller et al, 2008; Helbert et al, 2008), followed by brief observations of the IR1 camera on the JAXA Akatsuki mission (Nakamura et al, 2016) In response to these successes, the Venus Emissivity Mapper (VEM) concept was developed for future orbital missions to enable Venus’ surface to be studied from orbit through six different windows at 0.86, 0.91, 0.99, 1.02, 1.11, and 1.18 μm (Helbert et al, 2018, 2019). This white paper describes how orbital spectra can be measured and calibrated using windows in the ~1 μm region where the Venus atmosphere is transparent It discusses how previous pilot studies of the VIRTIS orbiter produced exciting science results with only a single measurement band at 1.02 μm. Considering the significance of these studies based on one band, it is clear that spectroscopic investigations using emissivity bands truly are mature and ready for the additional exciting science to be gained by use of a broader wavelength range
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