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The cosmic carbon observatory

宇宙碳观测站

基本信息

批准号：
ST/W001128/1
负责人：
Martin Robert Lee
金额：
$ 115.15万
依托单位：
University of Glasgow
依托单位国家：
英国
项目类别：
Research Grant
财政年份：
2022
资助国家：
英国
起止时间：
2022 至无数据
项目状态：
未结题

来源：
https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=ST%2FW001128%2F1
关键词：
cosmic carbon observatory

项目摘要

This research programme seeks to understand key processes during the early history of the Solar System including the construction and destruction of planetary bodies, and delivery of some of the key ingredients for life to Earth, including carbon and water. One focus of this project is on 'carbonaceous' asteroids that are made of rocks that are rich in water and organic matter. If enough fragments of these asteroids had fallen to the Earth early in its history, they could have introduced sufficient water and organic matter to help life to start. In recognition of their scientific importance, two carbonaceous asteroids, named Bennu and Ryugu, are currently being studied by spacecraft sent by NASA and the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency, respectively. These spacecraft have collected samples to deliver to Earth; Hayabusa2 successfully delivered ~5 g of Ryugu in December 2020. We will study these samples to understand how much water the asteroid now contains. One theory is that less water is present now than when the asteroid formed, and was lost as the asteroid was heated from the inside. We will try to answer this question by analysing samples from Ryugu, and interpreting them using information from experiments. These experiments will simulate the effects of heating of the asteroid's interior, and irradiation of Ryugu's surface by hydrogen and helium from the Sun (called the solar wind). In another project we will investigate how the same process of solar wind irradiation could have added water to otherwise completely dry mineral grains within the disk of dust within which the Solar System was born. We will also evaluate how much of the water that has been created by this process may provide an accessible resource on the surfaces of airless worlds. This work will use extraterrestrial materials that have been exposed to the solar wind on the surfaces of asteroids and the Moon. Alongside this work, experiments will mimic the effects of solar wind on mineral grains. The amount of water in both sets of samples will be measured using a new and very powerful technique called atom probe tomography; this technique enables scientists to see the locations of atoms of various types and water molecules within a sample and in three dimensions.The formation, compaction and aqueous evolution of carbonaceous asteroids, as well as how many of them were present initially in the proto-Solar System, is a hotly debated topic. Clues to the diversity of processes at work within these primitive bodies can be understood by exploring the microstructure and texture of meteorites and samples returned from these bodies. Using a multi-dimensional correlative approach underpinned by big data principles, we will group these materials by their texture and in so doing understand the dominant processes at work on primitive asteroids, and constrain how many there were. In order to send fragments to Earth, the carbonaceous asteroids must have experienced collisions. There is also evidence of a much more violent event in the early history of the Solar System that led to the breakup of a body the size of Mercury or Mars. Fragments of this planet-size body have fallen to Earth as the ureilite meteorites. These rocks are very special as they contain minerals rich in carbon, including diamonds, that come from deep inside the planet. The chemical composition of these minerals and the rocks within which they occur can tell us much about the carbon cycle of this doomed planet, and how other planets including Earth formed and evolved.The Cosmic Carbon Observatory will leverage cutting edge correlative micro to atomic scale analysis of precious extraterrestrial materials and thereby transform our understanding of crucial carbon-driven processes in the Solar System.

这一研究方案试图了解太阳系早期历史中的关键过程，包括建造和摧毁行星体，以及向地球输送生命的一些关键成分，包括碳和水。该项目的一个重点是由富含水和有机物的岩石组成的碳质小行星。如果这些小行星的碎片在地球历史早期就落到了地球上，它们可能会带来足够的水和有机物来帮助生命的开始。由于认识到它们在科学上的重要性，两颗名为本努和琉球的碳质小行星目前正分别由美国宇航局和日本宇宙航空研究开发机构发射的航天器进行研究。这些航天器已经收集了样品送往地球；Hayabusa2号于2020年12月成功运送了~5g琉球。我们将研究这些样本，以了解这颗小行星现在含有多少水。一种理论认为，现在存在的水比小行星形成时少，并且随着小行星从内部加热而失去。我们将通过分析琉球的样本，并利用实验信息来解释这个问题，试图回答这个问题。这些实验将模拟小行星内部的加热以及来自太阳的氢和氦(称为太阳风)对琉球表面的照射。在另一个项目中，我们将研究太阳风照射的相同过程如何将水添加到太阳系诞生的尘埃盘中原本完全干燥的矿物颗粒中。我们还将评估这个过程产生的水中有多少可以在没有空气的世界的表面提供可获得的资源。这项工作将使用小行星和月球表面暴露在太阳风中的外星物质。除了这项工作，实验还将模拟太阳风对矿物颗粒的影响。这两组样品中的水的数量将使用一种名为原子探针断层扫描的新的非常强大的技术来测量；这项技术使科学家能够看到样品中各种类型的原子和水分子的三维位置。碳质小行星的形成、压实和水的演化，以及它们最初存在于原太阳系的数量，是一个激烈辩论的话题。通过探索陨石和从这些天体返回的样品的微观结构和结构，可以了解这些原始天体内部作用过程的多样性的线索。使用以大数据原则为基础的多维相关方法，我们将根据这些材料的纹理对它们进行分组，这样做可以了解原始小行星上起作用的主要过程，并限制存在的数量。为了将碎片送到地球，碳质小行星必须经历过碰撞。也有证据表明，在太阳系的早期历史上，有一次更猛烈的事件导致了水星或火星大小的天体解体。这个行星大小的天体的碎片以辉绿石陨石的形式落到了地球上。这些岩石非常特殊，因为它们含有富含碳的矿物，包括来自地球深处的钻石。这些矿物的化学成分和它们所处的岩石可以告诉我们许多关于这颗注定要毁灭的行星的碳循环，以及包括地球在内的其他行星是如何形成和演化的。宇宙碳天文台将利用对珍贵的外星物质进行的尖端相关微观到原子尺度的分析，从而改变我们对太阳系关键的碳驱动过程的理解。