Space Center Researcher Receives $315,000 From NASA to Study Water Vapor on Mars

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Vincent Chevrier

Vincent Chevrier, assistant research professor in space and planetary sciences has received $315,000 from NASA to study water vapor on Mars.

According to Chevrier, spacecraft observations discovered large amounts of water below the surface of the Red Planet. The way the subsurface water interacts with its surroundings, including the regolith-loose dirt and rock-and salts, as well as its transport through the subsurface is dictated by daily and seasonal temperatures. Chevrier’s team will focus on the daily temperature variations and how the phases of water interact with regolith and salts. The researchers will use a simulation chamber in the W.M. Keck Laboratory to mimic the conditions, temperature and pressure.

When complete, the experiments, along with computer simulations, will provide information on how long- and short-term temperature variations affect the stability of ice on Mars. The research will also determine the optimal conditions for liquid water and brine formation below the Martian surface.

Working with Chevrier are Edgard Rivera-Valentin, a post-doctoral research professor at Brown University and a University of Arkansas alumnus, and Holly Farris, a graduate student in space and planetary sciences at the University of Arkansas.