Carbonaceous Chondrite Based Simulant of Phobos

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Simulant Name: Carbonaceous Chondrite Based Simulant of Phobos
Availability: May Be Available
Fidelity: Basic
Developed By: Marshall Space Flight Center, Open University
Available From: Doug Rickman (doug.rickman@nasa.gov)
Publications: Rickman, D. (2016), Developing a Carbonaceous Chondrite Based Simulant of Phobos. ASCE Earth and Space, Orlando, FL

The Carbonaceous Chondrite Based Simulant of Phobos was developed for a set of experiments testing whether biological material launched by an impact into Mars would survive an impact into Phobos. The simulant was created from a variety of materials, including JSC-1A as a partially glassy basaltic component, carbonaceous material (antigorite, gilsonite), and pseudo-agglutinates produced by Zybek Advanced Products. This mineralogy was loosely inspired by the Tagish Lake meteorite that may be an analog for D-type asteroids.

The components were ground separately, then mixed together and sterilized using gamma radiation. All the simulant produced was shipped to the Open University for the impact experiments, although the 2016 PowerPoint presentation states that small amounts may be available from Doug Rickman, and possibly in the future from the Open University.