Cassini finds an oxygen-carbon dioxide atmosphere at Saturn's icy moon Rhea

B. D. Teolis; G. H. Jones; P. F. Miles; R. L. Tokar; B. A. Magee; J. H. Waite; E. Roussos; D. T. Young; F. J. Crary; A. J. Coates; R. E. Johnson; W. L. Tseng; R. A. Baragiola

doi:10.1126/science.1198366

Cassini finds an oxygen-carbon dioxide atmosphere at Saturn's icy moon Rhea

B. D. Teolis, G. H. Jones, P. F. Miles, R. L. Tokar, B. A. Magee, J. H. Waite, E. Roussos, D. T. Young, F. J. Crary, A. J. Coates, R. E. Johnson, W. L. Tseng, R. A. Baragiola

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115 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The flyby measurements of the Cassini spacecraft at Saturn's moon Rhea reveal a tenuous oxygen (O₂)-carbon dioxide (CO₂) atmosphere. The atmosphere appears to be sustained by chemical decomposition of the surface water ice under irradiation from Saturn's magnetospheric plasma. This in situ detection of an oxidizing atmosphere is consistent with remote observations of other icy bodies, such as Jupiter's moons Europa and Ganymede, and suggestive of a reservoir of radiolytic O₂ locked within Rhea's ice. The presence of CO₂ suggests radiolysis reactions between surface oxidants and organics or sputtering and/or outgassing of CO₂ endogenic to Rhea's ice. Observations of outflowing positive and negative ions give evidence for pickup ionization as a major atmospheric loss mechanism.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1813-1815
Number of pages	3
Journal	Science
Volume	330
Issue number	6012
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1198366
Publication status	Published - 2010 Dec 24
Externally published	Yes

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title = "Cassini finds an oxygen-carbon dioxide atmosphere at Saturn's icy moon Rhea",

abstract = "The flyby measurements of the Cassini spacecraft at Saturn's moon Rhea reveal a tenuous oxygen (O2)-carbon dioxide (CO2) atmosphere. The atmosphere appears to be sustained by chemical decomposition of the surface water ice under irradiation from Saturn's magnetospheric plasma. This in situ detection of an oxidizing atmosphere is consistent with remote observations of other icy bodies, such as Jupiter's moons Europa and Ganymede, and suggestive of a reservoir of radiolytic O2 locked within Rhea's ice. The presence of CO2 suggests radiolysis reactions between surface oxidants and organics or sputtering and/or outgassing of CO2 endogenic to Rhea's ice. Observations of outflowing positive and negative ions give evidence for pickup ionization as a major atmospheric loss mechanism.",

author = "Teolis, {B. D.} and Jones, {G. H.} and Miles, {P. F.} and Tokar, {R. L.} and Magee, {B. A.} and Waite, {J. H.} and E. Roussos and Young, {D. T.} and Crary, {F. J.} and Coates, {A. J.} and Johnson, {R. E.} and Tseng, {W. L.} and Baragiola, {R. A.}",

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T1 - Cassini finds an oxygen-carbon dioxide atmosphere at Saturn's icy moon Rhea

AU - Teolis, B. D.

AU - Jones, G. H.

AU - Miles, P. F.

AU - Tokar, R. L.

AU - Magee, B. A.

AU - Waite, J. H.

AU - Roussos, E.

AU - Young, D. T.

AU - Crary, F. J.

AU - Coates, A. J.

AU - Johnson, R. E.

AU - Tseng, W. L.

AU - Baragiola, R. A.

PY - 2010/12/24

Y1 - 2010/12/24

N2 - The flyby measurements of the Cassini spacecraft at Saturn's moon Rhea reveal a tenuous oxygen (O2)-carbon dioxide (CO2) atmosphere. The atmosphere appears to be sustained by chemical decomposition of the surface water ice under irradiation from Saturn's magnetospheric plasma. This in situ detection of an oxidizing atmosphere is consistent with remote observations of other icy bodies, such as Jupiter's moons Europa and Ganymede, and suggestive of a reservoir of radiolytic O2 locked within Rhea's ice. The presence of CO2 suggests radiolysis reactions between surface oxidants and organics or sputtering and/or outgassing of CO2 endogenic to Rhea's ice. Observations of outflowing positive and negative ions give evidence for pickup ionization as a major atmospheric loss mechanism.

AB - The flyby measurements of the Cassini spacecraft at Saturn's moon Rhea reveal a tenuous oxygen (O2)-carbon dioxide (CO2) atmosphere. The atmosphere appears to be sustained by chemical decomposition of the surface water ice under irradiation from Saturn's magnetospheric plasma. This in situ detection of an oxidizing atmosphere is consistent with remote observations of other icy bodies, such as Jupiter's moons Europa and Ganymede, and suggestive of a reservoir of radiolytic O2 locked within Rhea's ice. The presence of CO2 suggests radiolysis reactions between surface oxidants and organics or sputtering and/or outgassing of CO2 endogenic to Rhea's ice. Observations of outflowing positive and negative ions give evidence for pickup ionization as a major atmospheric loss mechanism.

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Cassini finds an oxygen-carbon dioxide atmosphere at Saturn's icy moon Rhea

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