Toward a Realistic Model of the Formation of Terrestrial Planets and Water Delivery

类地行星形成和供水的现实模型

• 批准号: 2109285
• 负责人: Nader Haghighipour
• 金额: $ 30.12万
• 依托单位: Planetary Science Institute
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2021-09-15 至 2024-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2109285&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Toward; Realistic; Model; Formation; Terrestrial

A team from the Planetary Science Institute will study the origin of planet Earth and its oceans by answering how Earth formed and how a large amount of water appeared on it. This project has the potential to explain how the moon formed, how many times in the past Earth was hit by asteroids, and whether it will be hit again. The origin of Earth and other small planets of our solar system, especially Mars and Venus is unknown. Revealing how these planets form will shed light on whether life existed on other planets, and whether they have the resources needed for permanent human presence. The team have developed a detailed plan on involving undergraduate and high school students in summer projects, reaching out to minorities and under-represented communities.Although many efforts have been made to determine how Earth formed, no realistic modeling yet exists. The work of the investigators will advance our knowledge of the formation of Earth and the origin of its water by presenting the most accurate pathway to the formation of the inner solar system. The investigators have developed a novel approach in which they use computer simulations to accurately create collisions between large bodies (as large as asteroids and moons) and follow the process until a complete planet has formed. The team have developed a mechanism to demonstrate how water is transferred from one object to the other during large collisions, and how it reaches the region of space where Earth forms. The team have created a unique computer code that can carry out all these processes simultaneously. They plan to perform several hundred computer simulations and study the results to identify the most viable mechanism for the formation of Earth and its water.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

行星科学学院的一个团队将通过回答地球的形成以及大量水的出现方式来研究地球及其海洋的起源。该项目有可能解释月球的形成，过去的地球被小行星击中了多少次，以及它是否会再次击中。 太阳系，尤其是火星和金星的地球和其他小行星的起源是未知的。揭示这些行星形式将如何阐明其他行星上是否存在生命，以及它们是否具有永久性人类存在所需的资源。 该团队制定了一项详细的计划，该计划涉及本科生和高中生参与夏季项目，与少数民族和代表性不足的社区接触。尽管已经努力确定地球的形成方式，但没有现实的模型尚未存在。研究人员的工作将通过呈现最准确的途径来促进我们对地球形成及其水的起源的了解。研究人员开发了一种新颖的方法，在该方法中，他们使用计算机模拟来准确地在大物体（与小行星和卫星一样大）之间创造碰撞，并遵循该过程，直到形成完整的行星为止。该团队已经开发了一种机制，以证明在大型碰撞期间如何将水从一个物体转移到另一个物体，以及如何到达地球形成的空间区域。团队创建了一个独特的计算机代码，可以同时执行所有这些过程。他们计划进行数百次计算机模拟，并研究结果，以确定地球及其水的形成最可行的机制。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并使用基金会的知识分子优点和更广泛的影响评估审查标准，认为值得通过评估来获得支持。