Themozond is an instrument for analysis of the regolith without its delivery to analyzer L.V. Ksanfomality, IKI RAS Many landing spacecrafts, beginning with Luna, Mars, Venera and VIKING, same as many other U.S. spacecrafts for Mars exploration have been fitted with a tool capturing regolith for analysis. Mechanical instrument of this type are complex and include moving parts, ensuring of which is difficult. Many landing spacecrafts, beginning with Luna, Mars, Venera and VIKING, same as many other U.S. spacecrafts for Mars exploration have been fitted with a tool capturing regolith for analysis. Mechanical instrument of this type are complex and include moving parts, ensuring of which is difficult. Methods for analyzing of the regolith composition usually rely on its pyrolysis, products of which are delivered into instruments for direct analysis. The proposed method is heating of a sample in situ and only the evaporated volatile is transferred to instruments. Ganymede Workshop, March 5-7, 2013

THE INSTRUMENT AND OPERATION The thermozond is a cylindrical elongated projectile with a volume of about 1 liter, which is to be dug into regolith like a penetrator, for a shallow depth, using vibrational method. Located in the projectile is a charge consisting of chemical fuel and moderator that sets the required rate of heating. Heating reaction is initiated at the time of burial and continues until complete consumption of the fuel agent, for example, for an hour. During the heating, regolith surrounding the projectile separates volatiles and vapor-gas mixture that reaches the surface mostly along the channel of deepening. For example, in the case of Mars the first separable volatile will be water vapor. Escaping steam and gas plume contains all necessary components for further analysis of the mixture.

The depth of Themozond operation should be 0.5 to 1 m

PROJECT Themozond SPECIFICATIONS The only moving part is the medium itself. For the majority of the studied celestial bodies the ambient atmospheric pressure comparing to releasing steam-gas mixture is so low that its entry into the instruments for analysis does not cause any problem. Accepted is a heat production of the chemical agent 33 kJ/kg. For the Mars surface experiment a regolith density is assumed as 0.4 g/cm 3, the specific heat 0.16 cal/g, the thermal conductivity cal/(cm s deg), the phase transition 72 cal/g, the Themozond temperature 400°C. For these terms, the radius of the testing volume is 40 cm, the volume of the heated sphere is cm 3, heated sphere mass is 110 kg. Duration of the Themozond action is about 1 hour.

Themozond – an analysis of the regolith properties without its delivery to analyzer L.V. Ksanfomality, IKI RAS L.V. Ksanfomality, IKI RAS Ganymede Workshop, March 5-7, 2013