New insights into Europa's surface using Galileo/NIMS data and MCMC modeling

Guillaume Cruz Mermy (1) , Frédéric Schmidt (1, 2) , François Andrieu (1) , Ines Belgacem (3) , Thomas Cornet (4) , Nicolas Altobelli (3)

1 GEOPS - Géosciences Paris Saclay
2 IUF - Institut Universitaire de France
3 ESA - Agence Spatiale Européenne = European Space Agency
4 Aurora Technology BV

We tested, for the first time and in a systematic way, the inversion of Galileo NIMS infrared spectra using a significant number of 3, 4 and 5 compounds combinations out of a selection of 15 chemical compounds, using a non-linear radiative transfer model. We found that there is no unique solution to determine the exact composition of the surface, but a family of endmember are required: water ice, SAO and sulfates. This composition set seems to be coherent for both bright and dark regions of Europa. We will discuss the implication of these results on the Europa’s surface processes.

Domains: Earth and Planetary Astrophysics [astro-ph.EP]

Guillaume Cruz Mermy, Frédéric Schmidt, François Andrieu, Ines Belgacem, Thomas Cornet, et al.. New insights into Europa's surface using Galileo/NIMS data and MCMC modeling. EuroPlanet Science Congress (EPSC), Sep 2022, Granada, Spain. ⟨10.5194/epsc2022-825⟩. ⟨insu-03902083⟩