The Electrical Properties of Planetary Simulants and Ices Laboratory (EPPSIL) is centred around the EpsiMu instrument, which is a device for the electromagnetic characterisation of granular and aqueous materials. This Laboratory was started by Dr. Yann Brouet, a specialist in laboratory-based microwave physics for remote sensing.
The EpsiMu toolkit is a is composed of a coaxial sample-holder cell connected through a two-port transmission line to a calibrated Vector Network Analyzer (VNA), monitored by a dedicated software package that allows the measurement of the scattering parameters of the sample, and thereby its dielectric properties . The coaxial cell is specifically designed for granular and aqueous materials.
The EpsiMu toolkit is a is composed of a coaxial sample-holder cell connected through a two-port transmission line to a calibrated Vector Network Analyzer (VNA), monitored by a dedicated software package that allows the measurement of the scattering parameters of the sample, and thereby its dielectric properties . The coaxial cell is specifically designed for granular and aqueous materials.
My goal is to use EpsiMu to characterise the dielectric response of materials relevant to planetary remote sensing in the microwave wavelengths. These include: Planetary Ices (water, carbon dioxide), ice and soil simulant mixtures, aqueous salt solutions, etc. These materials are relevant for the studies of surface and subsurface ices on Mars, and on icy satellites such as Jupiter's satellite Europa and Saturn's satellite Enceladus.
A recent study from our lab provided a new empirical relationship between the subsurface-radar measurements of dielectric properties of the Martian surface, and the amount of ice that may be present in non-polar, ice-rich areas such as the martian mid-latitudes.
A recent study from our lab provided a new empirical relationship between the subsurface-radar measurements of dielectric properties of the Martian surface, and the amount of ice that may be present in non-polar, ice-rich areas such as the martian mid-latitudes.