Experimental ice simulations for the interpretation of ice and organics observations in the Solar System

The harsh conditions in space (ultra-high vacuum, cryogenic temperatures, and radiation) are simulated in laboratory chambers to study ice properties and processes. UV photons/X-rays/ions impact on the ice covering microscopic dust particles in dense interstellar clouds, comets, icy moons and planetary surfaces. Radiation produces radicals and reactive species changing the initial composition of the ice (made of simple species like water, CO, CO2, CH3OH, NH3, etc) to form complex molecules of prebiotic interest (amino acids, nucleobases, sugars, …) in the laboratory. Many of these molecules were also identified in comets and asteroids.

The ice porosity and degree of order in the structure of these ices may also serve to trace their thermal and radiative history. Infrared spectroscopy is a powerful tool to gather detailed information of ices in space, while mass spectrometry allows to characterize the gas composition. Ice laboratory studies have become essential to prepare new cometary and icy moon missions and to interpret the results delivered by these missions. We will present the application of the ice experiments to the Rosetta mission, Hayabusa 2, JUICE and JWST.