Dr. Jinjun Liu Receives Research Grant from NASA Kentucky

Dr. Liu receives grant from NASA Kentucky for his proposal “High-Resolution Laser Spectroscopy of Trace Gases in the Lower Atmosphere of Venus in Support of NASA’s Exploration Missions” (RIA-20-049).

Abstract

We propose wavelength-modulation spectroscopy (WMS) and Doppler-free saturation spectroscopy in the infrared region for the study of trace gases in the lower atmosphere of Venus, including SO₂, H₂O, CO, OCS, and HCl. The extreme environment on Venus will be recreated in a high-temperature high-pressure gas cell. A broadly tunable continuous-wave optical parametric oscillator will be used as the light source to cover the longer-wavelength range (λ>2.2 μm). The shorter-wavelength range (λ<2.2 μm) will be investigated in collaboration with the Laboratory Studies and Atmospheric Observations Group of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Transitions of the trace gas molecules in the atmospheric windows of Venus will be recorded with WMS. The Doppler-free spectroscopy measurements are designed to utilize spectral assignment and lineshape analysis. The proposed spectroscopic studies will contribute to the future DAVINCI+ (Deep Atmosphere Venus Investigation of Noble gases, Chemistry, and Imaging Plus) and  VERITAS (Venus Emissivity, Radio Science, InSAR, Topography, and Spectroscopy) missions of NASA. The laser spectroscopy experiments will be included in the Physical Chemistry Laboratory course (Chemistry 470) taught by the PI and made accessible to STEM students from universities in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.