火星の表層環境模擬実験装置

抄録

Recent Martian exploration missions have supplied detailed geological data from the surface of Mars. This has lead to an increase in the importance of Mars environmental simulation experiments as tools to interpret these newly acquired data. The recreation of the Martian surface atmosphere in environmental simulation chambers is essential for experimental studies to determine the geological and/or astrobiological processes that operate on Mars. Environmental simulators are also important to investigate and develop instruments for scientific observation during missions to Mars. Here, we introduce details of a general-purpose Mars environmental simulation chamber developed in the Planetary Exploration Research Center of the Chiba Institute of Technology (PERC/Chitech). The chamber can simulate the temperatures, pressures, and chemical compositions encountered within the Martian lower atmosphere.