We carried out wind tunnel experiments on parabolic flights with 100 μm Mojave Mars simulant sand. The experiments result in shear stress thresholds and erosion rates for varying g-levels at 600 Pa pressure.
Oxygen fugacity is a measure of rock oxidation that influences planetary structure and evolution. Most rocky bodies in the Solar System formed at oxygen fugacities approximately five orders of magnitude higher than a hydrogen-rich gas of solar composition.
Volatile molecules are critical to habitability, yet difficult to observe directly at the optically thick midplanes of protoplanetary disks, where planets form.
The increasing number of newly detected exoplanets at short orbital periods raises questions about their formation and migration histories.
The Moon-forming giant impact extensively melts and partially vaporizes the silicate Earth and delivers a substantial mass of metal to Earth's core.
Chemical analyses of meteorites allow for a better estimation of the chemical composition of the Earth and its potential building blocks.
The first minerals to form in the universe were nanocrystalline diamonds, which condensed from gases ejected when the first generation of stars exploded.
The chemical composition of stars that have orbiting planets provides important clues about the frequency, architecture, and composition of exoplanet systems.
Understanding the collisional properties of ice is important for understanding both the early stages of planet formation and the evolution of planetary ring systems.