Geology I Am Implementing a Phase 1

Geology

I am implementing a Phase 1 Investigation to determine the fundamental geology and geophysics of the planet in question. I will describe the critical features and characteristic ranges of the planet. I will also try to ascertain the feasibility of life and the history of this planet. To be successful on our mission, my team and I must study the whole of the planets with an emphasis on comparison and contrast. I plan to use Earth as the basis of our investigation proposal because I know Earth best and also because it is a planet of extremes. It has a crust that is very active as well as an atmosphere filled with water.

Earth is a terrestrial planet and as such has gone through differentiation, cratering, flooding by lava and water, and also has undergone surface evolutions. Differentiation is the separation of planetary material by density. I know Earth differentiated because seismic waves have revealed a core of metals (nickel and iron), a thick mantle of dense rock, and a think crust of low density. (The lithosphere and "plastic" asthenosphere). The core is molten except for the very center and this conducting liquid in the core is responsible for the planet's magnetic field.

The plastic rock of the upper mantle distorts plates of crustal rock and makes the Earth's surface active due to the circulation the upper mantle endures. The crust undergoes transformation, convergence, and separation. Mid ocean rifts create new rock by allowing lava to seep out. Old crust burrows into the deep trenches of some continents where it is remelted, thus causing volcanoes and earthquakes that recycle the Earth's crust. This is why we rarely see impact craters on Earth and so many on the moon. The moon is inactive and also has no atmosphere to mitigate the damage caused by any meteors, especially those that weigh over 350 tons.

The atmosphere of the planet will give us much information. Based on Earth's situation, we know that atmosphere is developed by gases and ices that were trapped in the pulled planetesimals that helped construct Earth. Volcanism has outgassed what used to be a set of other gases and oxygen has been added by plant life. Lowland regions must once have been flooded by lava when Earth was young, but water has since then filled those lowlands with water.

Using comparative planetology I would analyze the terrain of Planet X. I would search for areas indicative of lava flows, which naturally be in lower ground, and would attempt to differentiate the amount of cratering between such lowlands and the highlands of Planet X. I would date the samples of the surface to see how new the surface is to see if there is great recycling going on, or if there was in the past in different regions. I would check the atmosphere and attempt to determine how the atmosphere was created.

I would check the density of Planet X to determine how dense the core was. Wrinkling of the crust may be indicative of shrinking of the planet due to cooling and the size of the core. I would hope that the surface temperature of the planet would allow extensive testing and that the atmosphere did not consist of acids as Venus's does. The planet may be so large like Jupiter or Saturn that it has been able to retain much of its hydrogen and helium. This will give this planet a much lower density than our terrestrial planets. If the planet is extremely large, I would analyze the electric currents that may be occurring from high pressures converting hydrogen to a liquid metal. (and thus creating conduction).