Planetary Science Group, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Birkbeck, University of London: Consolidated Grant Proposal

这项综合拨款的申请是为了支持伦敦大学伯克贝克的行星科学研究。伯克贝克的地球和行星科学系拥有一个相对较小但非常活跃的行星科学研究小组，主要从事月球科学和探索、流星学和天体生物学。在过去的五年里，我们的团队在国际行星科学文献中领导(即第一作者)了25篇同行评议论文，做出了重大贡献(即，与人合著)另外19种同行评议出版物，并贡献了超过75种额外的出版物(包括在主要国际会议上提交的超过55篇扩展摘要)。本申请旨在通过在天体生物学、早期太阳系研究和月球样本分析领域为一名博士后研究助理和两名博士后学生提供支助，从而推动我们在这些领域的工作。这三个领域都符合行星科学的国家和国际优先事项，近年来，我们小组在所有三个领域都表现出了国际领先地位。本次拨款申请将支持的具体项目是：(1)通过地球上的类似物引导寻找火星上的过去或现在的生命：最大限度地发挥行星漫游者的天体生物学潜力。该项目旨在利用火星车搭载的多光谱成像系统帮助寻找火星上的过去或现在的生命，以便能够正确地识别和解释地球表面上与天体生物学有关的矿物(例如，在水存在下形成的矿物)。这些信息将被用来为欧空局的外火星任务以及未来可能计划的其他类似任务提供操作程序。(2)“太阳系早期的混合物质--流星研究”。太阳系是由4.6Ga前的太阳星云形成的。陨石通常代表太阳系历史最早阶段遗留下来的物质，让我们深入了解行星体形成期间发生的过程。这项研究将通过详细研究嵌入陨石角砾岩中的不同类型的陨石碎片，即撞击到无关小行星表面的物质，来调查太阳星云部分内部物质的混合。这些碎片(“碎石”)是各种各样的陨石类型的碎片，包括一些不同于任何已知陨石类型的碎片。对这种物质的研究将极大地扩展我们对行星吸积早期存在的各种行星体的认识。(3)“结合航天器遥感数据和实验室样品分析确定月球陨石的来源”。该项目将把月球地球化学遥感数据与实验室确定的月球陨石成分结合起来，以约束后者的发射地点。这将使年龄、岩相学、微量和微量元素组成以及同位素地球化学(所有这些都可以通过实验室对陨石的分析来确定，但没有一个不能仅通过遥感确定)能够用来解释月球上各个发射点的地质历史。获得可比信息的唯一其他手段是将专门的样品送回这些地方，因此，在承诺执行这类任务之前，最好探索月球陨石在多大程度上能够以更短的时间尺度和更少的费用获得可比信息。所有这些项目都属于STFC确定的高度优先的“科学挑战”，特别是“科学挑战B”：恒星和行星系统是如何发展的，生命是我们这个星球独有的吗？我们方案的一个主要辅助目标是在行星科学的这些关键领域培训青年科学家。

This application for a Consolidated Grant is to support planetary science research at Birkbeck, University of London. The Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Birkbeck hosts a relatively small, but very active, planetary science research group, specialising principally in lunar science and exploration, meteoritics, and astrobiology. Over the last five years our group has led (i.e. has first-authorship of) 25 peer reviewed papers in the international planetary science literature, has made significant contributions (i.e. co-authorship of) 19 additional peer reviewed publications, and contributed over 75 additional publications (including over 55 extended abstracts presented at major international conferences). The present application is intended to advance our work in these areas by providing support for one post-doctoral research assistant and two Ph.D. studentships in the areas of astrobiology early solar system studies, and lunar sample analysis. All three areas fit into national and international priorities for planetary science, and in recent years our group has demonstrated international leadership in all three areas.The specific projects to be supported by the present grant application are:(1) "Searching for Past or Present Life on Mars Guided by Earth-Based Analogues: Maximising the Astrobiological Potential of Planetary Rovers". This project is designed to assist in the search for past or present life on Mars using rover-borne multi-spectral imaging systems to allow the correct identification and interpretation of astrobiologically relevant minerals on the planet's surface (e.g. minerals that formed in the presence of water). This information will be used to inform operating procedures for ESA's ExoMars mission, and other similar missions which may be planned in the future. (2) "Mixing Material in the Early Solar System - a Meteoritic Study". The Solar System formed from solar nebula about 4.6 Ga ago. Meteorites generally represent material left over from this earliest phase of solar system history, and give us insight into processes that occurred during the formation of planetary bodies. This study will investigate mixing of material within parts of the solar nebula via the detailed study of fragments of different meteorite types embedded within meteorite breccias, i.e. material accreted by impact to the surface of an unrelated asteroid. These fragments ("lithic clasts") are pieces of a wide variety of meteorite types, including some that are different from any known meteorite type. A study of such material will greatly extend our knowledge of the varieties of planetesimals that existed in the early stages of planetary accretion. (3) "Constraining the Source Localities of Lunar Meteorites by Combining Spacecraft Remote Sensing Data with Laboratory Sample Analysis". This project will combine lunar geochemical remote sensing data with laboratory-determined compositions of lunar meteorites to constrain the launch localities of the latter. This will enable the ages, petrography, minor- and trace-element compositions, and isotope geochemistry (all of which can be determined by laboratory analyses of the meteorites, but none of which cannot be determined by remote sensing alone) to be used to interpret the geological history of the individual launch localities on the Moon. The only other means of obtaining comparable information would be to target dedicated sample return missions to these localities, so exploring the extent to which lunar meteorites may yield comparable information on shorter timescales and at less expense is desirable before committing to such missions. All these projects fall within the high priority 'Science Challenges' identified by STFC, specifically 'Science Challenge B': How do stars and planetary systems develop and is life unique to our planet? A major subsidiary objective of our programme is the training of young scientists in these key areas of planetary science.