Measuring Surface Bulk Elemental Composition on Venus

Abstract

Bulk elemental composition measurements of the subsurface of Venus are challenging because of the extreme surface environment (462 ˚C, 93 bars pressure). Instruments provided by landed probes on the surface of Venus must therefore be enclosed in a pressure vessel. The high surface temperatures require a thermal control system that keeps the instrumentation and electronics within their operating temperature range for as long as possible. Currently, Venus surface probes can operate for only a few hours. It is therefore crucial that the lander instrumentation be able to make statistically significant measurements in a short time. An instrument is described that can achieve such a measurement over a volume of thousands of cubic centimeters of material by using high energy penetrating neutron and gamma radiation. The instrument consists of a Pulsed Neutron Generator (PNG) and a Gamma-Ray Spectrometer (GRS). The PNG emits isotropic pulses of 14.1 MeV neutrons that penetrate the pressure vessel walls, the dense atmosphere and the surface rock. The neutrons induce nuclear reactions in the rock to produce gamma rays with energies specific to the element and nuclear process involved. Thus the energies of the detected gamma rays identify the elements present and their intensities provide the abundance of each element. The GRS spectra are analyzed to determine the Venus elemental composition from the spectral signature of individual major, minor, and trace radioactive elements. As a test of such an instrument, a Schlumberger Litho Scanner1 oil well logging tool was used in a series of experiments at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. The Litho Scanner tool was mounted above large (1.8 m x 1.8 m x .9 m) granite and basalt monuments and made a series of one-hour elemental composition measurements in a planar geometry more similar to a planetary lander measurement. Initial analysis of the results shows good agreement with target elemental assays.