Investigation of Martian methane by using ultra-high resolution spectroscopy onboard dedicated telescope at Mt.Haleakala, Hawaii

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 25800271
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Space and upper atmospheric physics
• Research Institution: Tohoku University
• Principal Investigator: Nakagawa Hiromu 東北大学, 理学(系)研究科(研究院), 助教 (30463772)
• Project Period (FY): 2013-04-01 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: 火星大気 / メタン / 赤外分光 / 地上観測 / ヘテロダイン / 高分解能

Outline of Final Research Achievements

A new Mid-Infrared Laser Heterodyne Instrument (MILAHI) with ultra-high resolution was developed for detection of Martian methane by using dedicated ground-based telescope for planetary science at Mt.Haleakala, Hawaii. The instrument has been successfully installed onboard Tohoku-60cm telescop at the top of Mt.Haleakala, and obtained CO2 non-LTE emission spectra of Mars and Venus. Obtained data and model predictions by radiative transfer code gave the scientific capabilities and measurement sensitivities of the MILAHI. This result has been accepted in Planetary Space Science (in printing). CO2 isotopes observation has been performed by using another IR heterodyne instrument, HIPWAC onboard IRTF NASA telescope, in order to understand the atmosphere-surface interactions. The Mars measurement by using SOFIA stratospheric telescope was also performed to detect Martian methane. The international support campaigns for orbiter missions, such as MAVEN and TGO have been prepared.

Free Research Field

Planetary atmosphere physics