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The diverse planetary environments in the solar system react in somewhat different ways to the encompassing influence of the Sun. These different interactions define the electrostatic phenomena that take place on and near planetary surfaces. The desire to understand the electrostatic environments of planetary surfaces goes beyond scientific inquiry. These environments have enormous implications for both human and robotic exploration of the solar system.
This book describes in some detail what is known about the electrostatic environment of the solar system from early and current experiments on Earth as well as what is being learned from the instrumentation on the space exploration missions (NASA, European Space Agency, and the Japanese Space Agency) of the last few decades. It begins with a brief review of the basic principles of electrostatics.
1. Introduction
2. Electrostatic Principles
Coulomb’s Law and the Principle of Superposition
The Electric Field
Conductors in Electrostatic Fields
Capacitance
Electrostatic Breakdown
Dielectrics in Electric Fields
Plasmas
Electrical and Mechanical Mobility
Debye Length
3. Electrical Breakdown and Charge Decay in Planetary Atmospheres
Electrical Breakdown in Planetary Atmospheres
Glow Discharges and Ion Wind
Charge Mobility
Charge Decay in Planetary Atmospheres
4. The Terrestrial Electrostatic Environment
The Earth’s Atmosphere
Electrical Breakdown in the Terrestrial Atmosphere
Radiation from the Sun: The Solar Wind
Radiation Belts
Auroras
5. Spacecraft and Satellites in the Electrostatic Environment of the Earth
Spacecraft and Satellite Orbits
Spacecraft Charging
Spacecraft Charging in LEO
Charging of the International Space Station
Spacecraft Charging in MEO
Spacecraft Charging in GEO
Mitigation Techniques
6. The Electrostatic Environment of the Moon
The Lunar Surface Environment
The Lunar Electrostatic Environment
Electrostatic Charging of the Lunar Regolith
Triboelectric Charging on the Lunar Surface
7. The Electrostatic Environment of Asteroids
The Asteroid Electrostatic Environment
Electrostatic Dust Transport
Cohesive Forces in Asteroids
8. The Martian Electrostatic Environment
The Martian Atmosphere
Electrical Breakdown in the Martian Atmosphere
Electrostatic Charge and Size of Martian Atmospheric Dust Particles
9. The Electrostatic Environments of Venus and Mercury
Electrical Phenomena in the Venusian Atmosphere
The Electrostatic Environment of Mercury
10. The Electrostatic Environments of the Giant Planets
The Electrostatic and Magnetic Environments of Jupiter
Lightning on Jupiter
The Electrostatic Environment of Saturn
The Electrostatic Environments of Uranus and Neptune
The Electrostatic Environment of Saturn’s Moon Titan