Titan Atmosphere Simulation chamber

Provided by: Department of Physics & Astronomy, The Open University

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Scientific Contact:

Professor N J Mason
Department of Physics and Astronomy
The Open University
Walton Hall, Milton Keynes
MK 7 6AA, UK
Email:
Phone 00 44 1908 655132 Fax 00 44 1908 654192

Local administrative contact (once a TNA visit is awarded):

Ms B J Bishop
Department of Physics and Astronomy,
Phone 00 44 1908 655253 Fax 00 44 1908 654192

 

Facility Description

The OU Titan atmosphere facility provides an apparatus capable of both reproducing the Titan atmosphere and providing an means of investigating the physical and chemical conditions found therein. The appartus is capable of simulating Titan's atmospheric composition under a range of pressures and temperatures and, through provision of external UV light and /or electrical discharge can be used to form the well known Titan Aerosol species ( known collectively as Tholins) which can subsequently be analysed using one of several analytical techniques ( UV-Vis, FTIR and mass spectrometry.

The chamber is supported by 2 technical staff comprising two dedicated technicians and a laboratory manager and is overseen by senior member of the academic staff Professor N J Mason. Current external users include several from Central and Eastern Europe with partnership agreement with Comenius University Bratislava, Slovakia for atmospheric simulations.

An additional facility allows the icy surfaces of Titan to be modelled by condensing ices onto a transparent substrate cooled to temperatures as low as 35K. Chemical transformations in the ice may be induced by UV light or an electron beam and chemical transformationsexplored by in-situ UV-Vis and FTIR spectrometry.

Facility Applications

The apparatus has been used to mimic the physical and chemical conditions in the upper atmosphere of Titan. By using a coronal discharge the nitriles that can be formed by electron and UV light within a basic atmosphere of Nitrogen and methane may be created and their reaction pathways explored. Prolonged operation of the discharge leads to the formation of solid deposits which are believed to be an analogue of the tholins (dust) in the Titan atmosphere.

The apparatus may also be configured to mimic the Martian atmosphere and has been used in a series of experiments to study ozone formation in the Martian atmosphere and its relationship to the nascent water concentrations. The irradation of ice surfaces has similarly been used to explore ozone formation is Martian ice caps.

 

Facility References

Selected relevant publications

Ozone generation in positive and negative corona discharge fed by humid oxygen and carbon dioxide
J D Skalny J Orszagh, S Matejcik and N J Mason
Physica. Scripta T131 014012 (2008)

Positive and negative corona discharges in flowing carbon dioxide
J D Skalny, A Stoica, J Orszagh, R Vladoiu and N J Mason
Journal of Physics D 41 175211 (2008)

For information on the Europlanet TNA programme contact:

Professor N J Mason, Department of Physics and Astronomy, The Open University, Walton Hall. Milton Keynes, MK7 6AA
Email (preferred method of contact)

 

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Last updated:14 July 2009