Understanding the Geologic Evolution of the Solar System through Meteorites and other Planetary Samples

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Meteorites are samples of places to which we cannot readily go including the Moon, Mars and asteroids; their study enables us to explore the Solar System in time and space. Some meteorites preserve a record of the very first few million years of our Solar System's history, while others capture eruptions of lava on the surface of Mars a mere 200 million years ago. The detailed study of these samples provides information about their parent planets which can only be matched by similar studies on samples retrieved by space missions. In the case of meteorites from Mars, the meteorites provide information which complements and extends what is known from landed and orbiting spacecraft that are exploring Mars today.The conditions at the surface of the Earth today are detrimental to meteorite specimens - fundamentally because the geologic evolution of the Earth has differed so vastly from those of the meteorites' parent planets. For this reason, meteorites can quickly undergo contamination, modification and alteration after their fall to Earth; the best samples for research are those meteorites that are rapidly retrieved after their fall, and which have been carefully curated and handled so that they are preserved against modification or alteration.My research program involves applying state-of-the-art tools to analyze meteorites, and a world-class facility to curate meteorites, in order to place constraints on the origin and geologic evolution of our Solar System. Two main objectives include determining the relationship between carbonaceous chondrite asteroids and comets, and narrowing down the possible source igneous units of the Martian meteorites. In addition, I will establish the Western Canadian arm of a Global Fireball Observatory (GFO), which will allow for the rapid detection and retrieval of freshly fallen meteorites. Coupled with the unique Subzero Curation Facility for meteorites, this will enable a complete, end-to-end approach to meteorite falls in western Canada, maximizing the science from these samples and effectively converting them into sample return missions. Lessons learned from the meteorites in the University of Alberta Collection, as well as meteorites recovered through the GFO, will inform future efforts by space agencies to return samples from asteroids, Mars and comets.