Abstract
Background: We consider the response of an icy regolith to a localized heat source using analytical and numerical models. Our motivation is to understand the implications of a landing failure in which a radioisotope power source is deposited along with terrestrial microbes within or near icy regolith, resulting in the production of liquid water and the proliferation of microbes. Method: Our 2-D numerical simulation accounts for temperature-driven phase changes between ice, liquid, and vapor, the diffusion of liquid and vapor through a porous regolith, and evaporation at the surface. Regolith thermophysical properties vary with the abundance of ice and liquid. Conclusion: We find that liquid water forms and persists for up to 100 sols in cases with the highest initial ice content. However, nearly all the locations that contain liquid are subsequently heated to temperatures that would sterilize any microbes. The exceptions occur for a fully icesaturated regolith, at depths at least 0.4 m below the surface. Liquid water never appears at the
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