A plasma irradiation system optimized for space weathering of solar system bodies

Abstract

In the tenuous atmospheric bodies of our solar system, space weathering on the celestial surface is an important process for its chemical and physical evolution and ambient environment on timescales of celestial evolution. Space plasma is a dominant energy and material source for space weathering. Plasma irradiation experiment in the laboratory is an effective method for modeling space weathering driven by space plasma. However, comprehensive modeling of plasma space weathering has not yet been conducted because the capabilities of the earlier facilities were not optimized for realistic space weathering; for example, the incident electron and ion were not irradiated in the same condition. Here, we developed a plasma irradiation system, Plasma Irradiation Emulator for Celestial Environments (PIECE) of the solar system bodies, which reproduces plasma space weathering in tenuous atmospheric bodies by the electron and ion irradiations in the same condition. We successfully developed a system with high electron and ion number fluxes of ∼1013-1016particles cm-2s-1 at any acceleration energy in the range of 1–30 keV, which leads to a fluence of e.g., ∼1018-1021particles cm-2s-1 , with a 1-day irradiation time. This fluence corresponds to a plasma irradiation time of ~ 103–106 years on Europa. Graphical Abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.].