Astronaut Scientific Debriefings, 1962-1963

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LOS ALAMOS SCIENTIFIC LABORATORY
UNIVIEll81TY OP' CALIP'OIINIA
LOIi ALAM09, NIEW MUICO
TO:
Dr. Jocelyn Gill
DATE:
July 13, 1962
Readily detectable structure would produce ve.r1e.t1ons of o-N1 and aNa ot
about half the attenuation figure given in equations (18) and (19) which is
near the threshold of detectability.
I have not yet found an author who estimates the concentration of Ne or
N02 'in the atmosphere; Bates and Nicolet discuss the reactions which lead to it
in the book "'lhe Earth as a Planet", edited by G. P. Kuiper (Volume II of
The Solar System).
Nicolet calculates the photodissociation time as 200 seconds during daytime,
and shows the concentration must be so low that no effect on solar observations
would be found.
As a general conclusion, it seems to me more likely that N02 would be
responsible for an absorbing layer, generated perhaps with the aid of downward
diffusion of NO to higher pressure regions favoring oxidation to N~.
'lhe
color suggested by Glenn fits very well', as may be quickly verified by looking
thru. the vapor space above concentrated nitric acid.
Experimental Proposal.
Ideally, one could ask for the absorption coefficient as a function of wave­
length (over a very wide spectral range) and time after sunset on the air volume
investigated.
It seems possible to get very useful data with a relatively simple experiment
perhaps possible of inclusion in one of the manned orbital flights.
Using a slow-speed movie camera, photograph the star field and such planets
(including the moon) as opportunity permits, with approximately a 10° field of
view and enough exposure to pennit photometric measurements as the light sources