A Consolidated Grant Proposal for Solar System Research at the University of Leicester (2016-2019)

我们提出了一个世界级的研究计划，重点关注与我们太阳系有关的两个主要研究领域。第一种方法是研究行星的外部环境，在那里气体处于等离子（电离）状态，这样它不仅能感受到行星的引力，而且还能与行星的磁场产生强烈的相互作用。在第二个领域，我们试图研究太阳系天体的起源和发展，以及对生命进化的影响，通过详细检查彗星、小行星和火星样品的组成，这些样品由航天器返回地球进行研究，或在行星探测任务中进行原位检查。先前在第一个领域的工作表明，行星的外部环境变化很大，这是由与外部太阳不断吹来的等离子体风的相互作用以及与内部行星及其卫星的相互作用决定的。太阳风很容易爆发，可能导致地球上的磁暴和明亮的极光，并且在11年的太阳周期内以及与太阳的距离上变化强烈。它与行星的相互作用取决于行星是否被磁化，是否有大气层，是否有活动的卫星绕其运行。我们将使用航天器数据来研究水星磁场接近太阳,但几乎没有大气层(使者的使命),火星更远,有气氛,但没有强磁场防止其流失由太阳风(火星快车和MAVEN),和地球在中间的距离有大气层和磁场(使用数据从多个任务包括auroral-imaging形象和极地卫星,和铱卫星星座)。我们还将研究强磁化的巨行星木星、土星和天王星，利用朱诺号在木星上的新任务和卡西尼号在土星上的数据，结合哈勃太空望远镜在紫外波段和大型地面望远镜在红外波段的极光观测。极光是由在外层环境和上层电离大气之间流动的大规模电流引起的，这些电流在这些区域之间传递力。总体重点将放在复杂的物理过程上，这些物理过程将外部的太阳风、行星周围的磁场（如果有的话）和内部的行星大气或表面耦合在一起。在一个相关的项目中，我们还建议开发一种可用于飞行的紧凑型低质量紫外成像仪，该成像仪可用于研究地球和其他地方的极光，以及更广泛的应用。对太阳系天体的起源和演化的研究建立在我们通过电子显微镜和基于同步加速器的x射线光谱学的独特组合，在微米级行星材料样品的微观分析方面开发的专业知识的基础上。由于从s级小行星Itokawa（隼鸟号任务）和81P/Wild2彗星（星尘号任务）等太阳系天体返回的少量物质，这些技术是必不可少的，对两者的研究构成了我们计划的一部分。对这些颗粒的分析提供了与已知原始陨石类型进行直接比较的机会，并揭示了形成太阳系最早阶段的过程。我们还将使用这些技术来研究最近发现的火星陨石，这将使我们能够首次在火星撞击风化层样本中限制热量和水-岩石相互作用的历史。在相关领域，我们还建议开发一种能够探测有机化合物和矿物质的天体生物学仪器。主要目标将是建立一个小型化的分析仪器，可以配置为现场和远程分析，并将适用于未来的行星探测任务，如美国宇航局和欧空局计划的任务。

We propose a world-class programme of research that focuses on two main areas of study concerned with our solar system. The first involves study of the outer environments of the planets where the gas is in the plasma (ionized) state, such that it not only feels the gravitational pull of the planet, but also interacts strongly with its magnetic field. In the second area we seek to study the origin and development of solar system bodies, and the impact on the evolution of life, through detailed examination of the composition of samples from comets, asteroids, and Mars, that are returned by spacecraft for study at Earth, or examined in situ during planetary exploration missions.Previous work in the first area shows that the outer environments of the planets vary widely, determined by the interaction with the plasma wind that blows continuously from the Sun on the outside, and the interaction with the planet and its moons on the inside. The solar wind is prone to outbursts that can lead to magnetic storms and bright auroras at Earth, as well as varying strongly over the 11-year solar cycle, and with distance from the Sun. Its interaction with the planets then depends on whether the planet is magnetised, has an atmosphere, and has active moons orbiting close in. We will use spacecraft data to study Mercury close to the Sun that has a magnetic field but almost no atmosphere (MESSENGER mission), Mars further away that has an atmosphere but no strong magnetic field to prevent its erosion by the solar wind (Mars Express and MAVEN), and Earth at intermediate distances having both an atmosphere and a magnetic field (using data from a number of missions including the auroral-imaging IMAGE and Polar satellites, and the Iridium satellite constellation). We will also study the strongly magnetized giant planets Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus, using data from the new Juno mission at Jupiter and Cassini at Saturn, combined with observations of the auroras at ultraviolet wavelengths using the Hubble Space Telescope and at infrared wavelengths using large ground-based telescopes. Auroras are caused by large-scale electric currents flowing between the outer environments and the upper ionized atmospheres, which communicate force between these regions. Overall emphasis will be on the complex physical processes that couple the solar wind on the outside, the magnetic field surrounding the planet (if any), and the planetary atmosphere or surface on the inside. In a related project we also propose to develop a flight-ready compact low mass ultraviolet imager that can be used to study the auroras at Earth and elsewhere, as well as for wider applications.Research on the origins and evolution of solar system bodies builds on the expertise we have developed in the microanalysis of micron-sized samples of planetary materials, through a unique combination of electron microscopy and synchrotron-based X-ray spectroscopy. Such techniques are essential due to the small amounts of material returned from solar system bodies such as S-class asteroid Itokawa (Hayabusa mission) and Comet 81P/Wild2 (Stardust mission), studies of both forming part of our programme. Analysis of such grains offers the chance to provide a direct comparison to known primitive meteorite types and to reveal the processes that shaped the earliest stages of the solar system. We will also use these techniques to study a recently discovered Martian meteorite which will allow us to constrain the thermal and water-rock interaction history in a sample of Martian impact regolith for the first time. In a related area we also propose to develop an astrobiology instrument that will be able to detect organic compounds and minerals. The primary aim will be to build a miniaturized analytical instrument that can be configured for both in-situ and remote analysis and will be suitable for inclusion in future planetary exploration missions such as those planned by NASA and ESA.