Student Opportunities

Mentors: Ben Fernando (JHU) & Mark Panning (JPL)

Background: We expect that Titan, just like the Earth, occasionally experiences seismic activity. These seismic waves propagate through the icy moon and carry with them valuable information about Titan’s interior. By recording them with Dragonfly’s seismometer, we hope to constrain various parameters such as the thickness of the ice shell, the depth of the ocean, and the degree of geological and tectonic activity. However, owing to the structure of Titan’s icy crust, seismic waves will likely be strongly scattered (i.e., they will lose energy as they bounce around in the ice and reflect off of small imperfections in it). Seismic scattering will make it more challenging to characterize Titan’s interior using Dragonfly’s seismometer.

Description: To help overcome these challenges we seek a student who will undertake computer modelling of scattering processes in Titan’s ice shell. This will involve: utilizing software that has already been developed at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) to create models of Titan’s interior, incorporating scattering process into these models, and running model simulations on a supercomputer. Because Titan’s interior is not well-constrained, simulations will be run for a variety of structural models. In order to understand how Titan’s interior compares to other planets and moons in the solar system, these simulations will also be compared to simulations and data for Mars, the Moon, and the Earth.

Tasks: The student will be trained to use seismic modelling codes to simulate scattering in the icy crust of Titan. This will involve running codes on high-performance computing (supercomputer) architecture. Project tasks will include:

• Generating 1D models of Titan’s interior structure using the latest constraints and JPL software called PlanetProfile
• Adding in 3D scattering models
• Examining the effects on seismic waveforms of a variety of different scattering parameters
• Considering what the impact of the above results will be on Dragonfly’s seismic investigations of Titan’s interior

This project will have supervisors at both Johns Hopkins and JPL. There is flexibility in the work location for in-person portions of the project (which might include weeks spent at either lab during the summer, for example). The rest of the time work can be carried out remotely.

Outcome: The results of this work will help us understand and predict the types of seismic signals we expect to see on Titan. This work will lay the groundwork for considerations of analogue seismic experimentation in Antarctica, data collection strategies for Dragonfly, and the next generation of seismic simulations in the run up to mission launch. While this project is focused on Titan, the selected student will also have opportunities to discuss and collaborate with scientists who are undertaking similar studies on legacy InSight data and who are preparing for the lunar Farside Seismic Suite and VIPER missions. Upon completion of the project, the selected student will also be invited to present their research results during a seminar at JPL and/or the Earth and Planetary Sciences Department at Johns Hopkins University.

More information on the Dragonfly mission and instruments can be found in the videos at https://dragonfly.jhuapl.edu/Gallery/#Gallery

Required skills: This project requires a numerical background, and eligible students will have completed courses in multivariable calculus (also known as Calculus 3 and/or vector calculus) and need to have completed introductory courses in mechanics, waves, or electromagnetism. The entirety of this project will involve computer-based coding and simulation assignments. The codes have already been written so students don’t need to be software developers, but some experience with coding, in any language, is required.

Desired skills: Experience with basic data visualization such as graph plotting, and data analysis using basic statistics, is also desired. This experience need not be extensive—the mentor team will teach the selected student what they need to know beyond the basics.

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Mentors: Prof. Baptiste Journaux, University of Washington, Department of Earth and Space Sciences, Seattle, USA and Dr. Mark Panning, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, USA

Background: Titan, the largest moon of Saturn, is believed to host a deep, potentially habitable ocean under its icy surface. The exact composition of this ocean is still unknown, but it is likely to contain major solutes such as NaCl and NH3. Both of these compounds are known to be excellent antifreeze agents, but very limited data on their behavior when subjected to the 8,000 atmospheres of pressure of Titan’s ocean, exist. These data are crucial for interior modeling of the Titan and analysis of Dragonfly seismological data.

Description: This project will experimentally quantify, for the first time, the anti-freeze effect of combined NaCl and NH3 solutes on ices expected inside Titan and characterize the sound speed and thermodynamics of the NaCl-NH3-H2O system at high pressures and low temperatures.

Tasks: The student will be trained to use diamond anvil cell high pressure apparatus, operate a Raman spectrometer, and conduct phase stability and sound speed measurements at the University of Washington. Specifically, the project entails:

• Conducting high pressure - low temperature phase diagram experiments using diamond anvil cell and Raman Spectroscopy
• Measuring sound-speed measurements of pressurized solutions directly relevant to thermodynamic characterization and seismological data analysis for Titan
• Developing a thermodynamic data numerical representation tool useful for the planetary science and physical chemistry communities
• Depending on their progress, the student could be involved in applying the application of the measured data to models of Titan’s interior

Outcome: The collected data will provide the first estimates of the combined anti-freeze effects of NaCl and NH3 in Titan’s interior, and place constraints on associated thermodynamic properties such as sound speed. This project will directly aid the interpretation of data returned from the Dragonfly Geophysics and Meteorology Package (DraGMet), in particular seismological data. The results of this study could be publishable in a scientific journal and presented at a scientific conference.

More information on the Dragonfly mission and instruments can be found in the videos at https://dragonfly.jhuapl.edu/Gallery/#Gallery

Required skills: We are seeking a motivated candidate with a background in physics or chemistry, and with experience designing and running experiments in physical chemistry and thermodynamics. The ability to work independently and in a team environment is required. No background in planetary science is necessary.

Desired skills: Relevant background in spectroscopy and/or thermodynamics is desired. Coding skills in MATLAB and/or Python are preferable.

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Mentors: Dr. Rob Hodyss, Jet Propulsion Laboratory; Dr. Shannon MacKenzie, Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory

Background: At 90K, Titan’s surface is expected to be composed of water ice and organics. The latter may be liquid (e.g., methane and ethane) or solid (e.g., acetylene, butane, and benzene). Some of the expected organic compounds are known to fluoresce when illuminated by UV light. Cataloging the fluorescence properties of tholins, lab-made analogs of complex organic compounds that form in Titan’s atmosphere and are thought to settle onto the surface and accumulate into dunes, will provide a useful reference library for in situ observations made with Dragonfly. Dragonfly’s camera suite, DragonCam, is capable of illuminating the surface with UV LEDs and observing the reflectance in 3 colors to help classify surface materials and inform the decision of whether or not to conduct additional investigations (e.g. take a sample, and analyze it with other instruments).

Description: In this project the guest investigator will illuminate analogs of Titan surface materials with UV light at 90K in the Cryogenic Chemistry Laboratory at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and record the fluorescence spectra. Analogs will include tholins, smaller aromatic molecules, and organics that have been chemically modified by contact with liquid water. This catalog of reflectance properties will then be used to model the spectral response that will be observed by DragonCam.

Tasks: The student will be trained to handle tholin and other organic samples, operate the cryogenic sample stage, and operate the spectrometer at JPL. Observed reflectances will then be used at APL to model the DragonCam measured spectra using specifications of the LEDs and camera. The project tasks include:

• Preparing samples for spectral analysis and conducting measurements.
• Analyzing experimental results
• Developing a catalog of reflectance spectra
• Depending on progress, the student may also image the samples with a benchtop model of DragonCam’s microscopic imager and LED suite.

This project will primarily be completed in the Cryogenic Chemistry Laboratory at JPL during at least the first summer, in close collaboration with scientists and engineers at APL.

Outcome: The collected reflectance spectra will provide a novel catalog of UV properties of Titan-relevant materials that will be of high interest to the Dragonfly team and the Titan community. This project will contribute to the development of DragonCam and the operational plans for imaging and analyzing Titan’s surface using UV LEDs. The results of this study are expected to be published in a scientific journal and/or presented at a scientific conference.

More information on the Dragonfly mission and instruments can be found in the videos at https://dragonfly.jhuapl.edu/Gallery/#Gallery

Required skills: This project requires the ability to work both independently and in a team environment. Successful completion of some coursework in chemistry and physics, and laboratory experience in any physical science or engineering field, are required.

Desired skills: This project requires the ability to work both independently and in a team environment. Successful completion of some coursework in chemistry and physics, and laboratory experience in any physical science or engineering field, are required.

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Mentors: Dr. Ellen Czaplinski, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and Dr. Jorge Núñez, The Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory

Background: At 90K, Titan’s surface is expected to be composed of water ice and organics. The latter may be liquid (e.g., methane and ethane) or solid (e.g., acetylene, butane, and benzene). We expect that processes that mix and modify solids and liquids here on Earth are also at work on Titan. Although primary compounds and large-scale geologic features on Titan’s surface are known, little is known about the microscopic-scale morphology of these compounds, and how their morphology may evolve after liquid methane and/or ethane interacts with the surface. Building a catalog of microscopic-scale morphologies that Dragonfly may encounter will provide resources for the analysis of Titan’s surface at various scales and will help us to understand the geologic context of these measurements.

Description: This project will generate analogs of Titan surface materials in a laboratory at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and image these analogs with a camera similar to the DragonCam microscopic imager. This catalog of microscopic-scale shapes and sizes will reveal differences between large-scale crystal structures of different compounds. Understanding these differences will provide new context for the images that Dragonfly will capture with DragonCam and will therefore drive decisions regarding when Dragonfly should take samples with other instruments.

Tasks: The student will be trained to use a temperature-controlled cryostage and microscope at JPL to image the samples. Samples would also be imaged at APL using the microscopic imager benchtop model. The project entails:

• Preparing various organic and aqueous samples (pure and mixtures) and analyzing their morphology under controlled temperatures using a cryostage and microscope.
• Analyzing experimental results using relevant imaging software
• Developing a catalog of sample morphologies for each compound and mixture of compounds that are relevant to Titan’s surface.
• Depending on progress, the student may also analyze cryostage samples with a Raman spectrometer to correlate morphology with composition, in the case of mixed samples.

This project will primarily be completed in a lab at JPL in close collaboration with scientists and engineers at APL.

Outcome: The proposed images will provide a catalog for compounds that Dragonfly is expected to encounter on the surface. This project will contribute to the development of DragonCam and the operational guidelines for imaging Titan’s surface. Results generated would aid in the interpretation of future DragonCam results, and will be archived at JPL and APL for further analysis. The results of this study could potentially be published in a scientific journal or presented at a scientific conference.

More information on the Dragonfly mission and instruments can be found in the videos at https://dragonfly.jhuapl.edu/Gallery/#Gallery

Required skills: This project requires the ability to work both independently and in a team environment. Successful completion of some coursework in chemistry and physics, and laboratory experience in any physical science or engineering field, are required.

Desired skills: Relevant background in organic chemistry and/or analytical chemistry is desired.

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