The Science of Solar System Ices

The role of laboratory research and simulations in advancing our understanding of solar system ices (including satellites, KBOs, comets, and giant planets) is becoming increasingly important. Understanding ice surface radiation processing, particle and radiation penetration depths, surface and subsurface chemistry, morphology, phases, density, conductivity, etc., are only a few examples of the inventory of issues that are being addressed by Earth-based laboratory research.

As a response to the growing need for cross-disciplinary dialog and communication in the Planetary Ices science community, this book aims to achieve direct dialog and foster focused collaborations among the observational, modeling, and laboratory research communities.

Murthy Gudipati is a Principal Scientist in the Planetary Ice Group, Science Division, of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. Gudipati's research interests can be broadly defined as understanding the physics and chemistry of interstellar and Solar System ices through laboratory simulations, observations, and instrumentation or simply evolution of ices in the universe. The three wings of this space endeavor are physics and chemistry of ices with applications to biology, chemistry, atmosphere, and astrophysics; space instrumentation to analyze organic matter on planets such as Mars, Europa, Titan, and Enceladus; and observations and analysis of in-situ and remote data. Gudipati's research in the recent past has focused on physics and chemistry of cryogenic ices. This research builds on the over 15 years of earlier expertise on chemical physics / physical chemistry, spectroscopy, and photochemistry of atmospheric and organic molecules in cryogenic matrices.

Julie Castillo-Rogez is a planetary scientist in the Planetary Ices Group, Science Division, of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, California. Her main interest lies in material physics, applied to the modeling of icy satellite and asteroid geophysical evolution and the design and planning of future spaceborne and in situ observations of these objects. Castillo-Rogex is involved hands-on in the measurements of the mechanical properties of ice in JPL's Ice Physics Laboratory, which she co-founded. She is a consultant for the definition and design of frozen astromaterial simultants, simulation chambers, and instrument testbeds. Her technical publications for the past ten years cover a variety of topics ranging from the geophysics and dynamics of icy satellites to the astrobiology of asteroids and the development of strategies to explore these objects with small spacecrafts.