The Experimental Petrology suite at JSC is equipped with instruments that are capable of simulating a wide range of pressures and temperatures exhibited on planetary bodies, from the very surface of these bodies to deep within the core of some of them (e.g., the Moon, differentiated asteroids).

For simulation of surface conditions, we utilize a series of Deltech furnaces that conduct ambient pressure, high-temperature experiments on a range of astromaterials and simulants. These experiments, particularly when combined with complementary high-pressure experimentation, help shed light on a wide range of petrologic processes and yield insights into the formation of planetary magmatic rocks and minerals. These furnaces operate over a relevant range of temperature and oxygen fugacity; the latter is controlled by precise gas mixtures monitored in a dedicated reference furnace and directly measured in the furnace of interest. Temperature sequences can be programmed with digital controllers (manually) or via a custom LabView automation application that can mimic virtually any natural process of cooling or heating.

For simulation of deep crustal, mantle, and core conditions of planetary bodies, the Experimental Petrology Facility has four solid-media presses for performing experiments on planetary materials at the elevated pressures (P) and temperatures (T) appropriate to the interiors of asteroids and planetary bodies (e.g., Mercury, Earth, Moon, Mars, and asteroid 4 Vesta). Of these four solid-media presses, there are three QuickPress piston-cylinders, designed to achieve pressures of 0.1 to 4.0 GPa, and one 880-Ton Multi-Anvil press designed to reach pressures between about 4 and 30 GPa (1 GPa = 10 kbar, or about ten thousand atmospheres pressure). Simulation of these high P-T conditions allows scientists to constrain processes that produced differentiated rocks from planets and asteroids. With this type of information, models can be constructed that help explain how terrestrial planets form, and how particular magmatic processes control various compositional relationships in these rock types.

This equipment is used to perform experiments on geological and planetary materials at the elevated P-T conditions appropriate to their formation. The goal of our experiments is to mimic the conditions inside planetary bodies (mainly Mercury, Earth, the Moon, and Mars) where processes took place that give rise to igneous rocks. Armed with this type of information, models can be constructed that help explain how terrestrial planets form, in general, and how particular magmatic processes produce the igneous rocks we observe today.

Inside the Experimental Petrology Laboratory: Research scientists Gordon Moore and Kayla Iacovino perform quenching on an experiment that was held at high temperatures and surface pressures. The bucket contains the sample material that will be used to simulate surface process on planetary bodies.