Direct Laser Ice Penetration System

Hogan, Bartholomew P [Inventor]Stone, William C [Inventor]

关键词: ICE;    MELTING;    LASERS;    TRANSMISSIVITY;    FIBER OPTICS;    WAVELENGTHS;    OPTICAL EQUIPMENT;    OPTICAL CONTROL;    PATENTS;    INVENTIONS;    BIOMARKERS;    PHOTOSYNTHESIS;    DETECTION;    HABITABILITY;   

RP-ID  :  US-Patent-9,963,939, US-Patent-Appl-SN-15/495,916

学科分类：航空航天科学

美国|英语

来源: NASA Technical Reports Server

【 摘 要 】

An optically powered system for rapid, focused heating and melting of water ice. The optical wavelength is chosen to fall in a range where transmissivity through liquid water is higher than through ice. An alternative embodiment of the invention further comprises a length of fiber optic tether between source and output to allow for motion of the melt head. A further embodiment includes probing the ice using various sensing modalities exploiting the presence of the fiber in the ice, searching for biomarkers and characterizing the radiation/light environment for subsurface habitability, including photosynthetic potential and radiation environment as a source for energy.