The origin and evolution of the terrestrial planets

我们今天看到的太阳系由一颗围绕行星运行的中央恒星组成，它是由45亿年前坍塌的尘埃和气体云形成的。我们可以通过研究陨石来了解太阳系历史的早期阶段。陨石是岩石小行星(可能还有彗星)的样本，其内容为我们提供了它们所经历的事件的快照。一些小行星在它们的历史上一直处于休眠状态，保存着曾经围绕新形成的太阳旋转的物质。通过分析采样这些小行星的原始陨石，我们计划研究它们所包含的古老颗粒，以便更多地了解行星形成之前的太阳系环境。其他小行星的活动要活跃得多，经历了加热、融化，甚至是火成岩和火山活动。这些物体中存在的任何冰都已经融化，使得液态水与岩石物质发生反应，产生含水的矿物。通过研究这些加工过的陨石中的矿物，我们旨在更多地了解太阳系早期水的丰度和分布。除了水，许多小行星和彗星也含有有机物。正如我们所知，这两个成分是生命的关键成分。有人提出，一旦地球形成，生命发展所需的水和有机物质实际上是通过撞击小行星和彗星来输送的。因此，我们还将通过使用不同的目标和粗体在实验室中模拟这一过程来研究这些材料在撞击过程中的转移。水的存在和作用不仅限于地球、小行星和彗星。前往火星的任务揭示了它的表面散布着含水的矿物，但尚未返回我们可以在实验室研究的样本。幸运的是，我们的收藏中有一批起源于火星的陨石，我们计划对这些陨石进行研究，以了解水的作用和这颗行星的宜居性。

The Solar System we see today, comprised of a central star orbited by planets, formed from a cloud of dust and gas that collapsed over 4.5 billion years ago. We can learn about the early stages of the Solar System's history by studying meteorites - samples of rocky asteroids (and possibly comets) whose contents provide us with snapshots of the events they have experienced. Some asteroids have remained rather dormant throughout their history, and preserve the very materials that were once swirling around the newly forming Sun. By analysing the primitive meteorites that sample such asteroids, we plan to study the ancient grains they contain in order to find out more about the solar system environment prior to planet formation. Other asteroids have been much more active, experiencing heating, melting and even igneous and volcanic activity. Any ices present in these bodies have melted, allowing liquid water to react with the rocky materials and produce water-bearing minerals. By studying the minerals in these processed meteorites we aim to learn more about the abundance and distribution of water in the early Solar System.As well as water, many asteroids and comets also contain organics. These two components are key ingredients to life as we know it. It has been suggested that once the Earth was formed, the water and organic material necessary for the development of life were actually delivered by impacting asteroids and comets. We will therefore also study the transfer of these materials during impacts by mimicking the process in the laboratory using various targets and bolides.The presence and action of water is not limited to the Earth, asteroids and comets. Missions to Mars have revealed its surface to be strewn with water-bearing minerals but have yet to return samples that we can study in the laboratory. We are fortunate to have a selection of meteorites that originated on Mars in our collection, and we plan to study these to learn about the action of water and the habitability of this planet.