Cosmochemistry and Planetary Science at the University of Manchester

我们在宇宙中是独一无二的，还是生命广泛存在？地球和我们的太阳系有哪些特别之处？为了回答这些问题，地震学家研究其他太阳系的形成，并寻找围绕其他恒星的行星系统。我们通过研究外星物质来对付它们。我们的目标是了解我们的太阳系是如何形成和演化的；是什么特性使生命的出现和发展以及复杂生物体的发展；以及在条件有利的地方生命发展的可能性有多大。我们将继续通过研究来自地球以外的样本来解决这些问题，例如星际尘埃颗粒(进入地球大气层的微小颗粒，主要来自彗星)、陨石和从月球、火星、小行星和彗星的太空任务中返回的样本。其中一些物质包含在恒星周围形成的尘埃，这些恒星在我们自己的太阳系形成之前很久就死亡了，这让我们能够了解这些恒星是如何形成组成我们星球和我们身体的元素的。其他化学和同位素示踪揭示了行星形成和演化的时间，使我们能够了解太阳系在地球形成时的样子。我们的地球有金属铁核，我们赖以生存的岩石地幔和地壳，以及使我们繁衍生息的海洋和大气。地球的形成是一个剧烈的过程，最终形成了支持我们的环境。我们将研究经历过类似过程的小行星上的陨石，以了解它们是如何展开的。我们还将研究富碳物质和气体在哪里以及如何融入小行星和彗星，它们的成分是什么，以及它们最终是如何融入地球的。这将帮助我们了解地球是如何获得我们生活所依赖的大气和海洋的。满月的面孔非常熟悉，但反映出它已经有30多亿年的历史，这是发人深省的。事实上，月球的外壳可以追溯到地球上生命刚刚开始的时期，几乎没有留下什么痕迹。研究月球使我们有机会了解地球是如何受到在这一关键时刻撞击地球的灾难性小行星撞击的影响。阿波罗任务的样本为我们提供了一些信息，但月球陨石提供了来自月球其他地区的材料，这些材料鲜为人知，并有助于揭示地球历史上这段神秘的时期。火星上是否有生命是一个引人入胜的问题。火星曾经提供过适合生命生存的环境吗？如果是这样的话，生命有没有找到立足点？火星上存在哪些生命的基本成分，这些成分是如何在地球上循环的？有多少是陨石运来的。这些是以生命可以使用的形式存在的吗？水是否存在？我们将在实验室中模拟火星表面，并用陨石使其受精，看看生命是否能够存活，以及它产生了什么我们可以在火星上寻找的东西。我们还将在来自火星的稀有陨石中寻找火星水和大气气体的证据，以了解其环境是如何随着时间的推移而演变的。分析图像是理解我们太阳系的另一种方式，但我们如何确定我们已经正确地识别了特征？这是一个在许多领域反复出现的问题，从人脸识别系统到核磁共振扫描。我们已经开发了一种新的方法，并将用它来研究月球表面撞击事件的记录和火星上排水系统的演变。这是一个令人兴奋的时刻，我们对我们在宇宙中的位置的看法正在迅速演变，因为我们带来了新的技术来理解我们的太阳系。作为这笔资金的一部分，我们将继续寻求新的发展，帮助未来几代行星科学家更清楚地了解我们太阳系和我们自己的历史。

Are we alone in the universe, or is life widespread? In what way are the Earth and our own solar system special? To answer these questions sstronomers studying the formation of other solar systems and seek planetary systems around other stars. We tackle them by studying extraterrestrial material. We aim to understand how our solar system formed and evolved; what properties enabled the emergence and of life and the development of complex organisms; and how likely it is that life develops where conditions are favourable. We will continue to address these questions by studying samples from beyond the Earth, such as interplanetary dust particles (minute grains, mostly from comets, that enter the Earth's atmosphere), meteorites and samples returned by space missions from the Moon, Mars, asteroids and comets. Some of this material contains dust that formed around stars that died long before our own solar system formed, allowing us to understand how these stars formed the elements that make up our planet and our bodies. Other chemical and isotopic tracers reveal the timing of planet formation and evolution, allowing us to understand what the solar system was like as our planet formed.Our Earth has a metallic iron core, a rocky mantle and crust on which we live, and oceans and an atmosphere that allow us to thrive.. Formation of the Earth was a violent process that eventually shaped the environment that supports us. We will study meteorites from asteroids that went through similar processes to understand how they unfolded. We will also look at where and how carbon-rich material and gases were incorporated into asteroids and comets, what their compositions were and how they were eventually incorporated into the Earth. This will help us understand how the Earth acquired the atmosphere and oceans on which our life depends. The face of the full Moon is very familiar, but it is sobering to reflect that it is more than 3 billion years old In fact, the Moon's crust dates back to a period when life was getting started on the Earth and few traces are preserved. Studying the Moon gives us an opportunity to understand how the Earth was affected by the cataclysmic asteroid impacts that pounded our planet during this crucial time. Samples from the Apollo mission have given us some information, but lunar meteorites provide material from other areas of the Moon about which little is known, and help to shed new light on this enigmatic period of Earth's history. Whether there is life on Mars is a fascinating question. Has Mars ever provided an environment hospitable to life? If it does, has, has life ever found a foothold? What basic ingredients for life were present on Mars, how are these cycled around the planet? How much was delivered by meteorites. Were these in a form that life can use and was water present? We will simulate the Martian surface in the laboratory and "fertilise" it by meteorites to see whether life can survive, and what it produces that we could look for on Mars. We will also search for evidence of Martian water and atmospheric gases, in rare meteorites that come from Mars to understand how its environment has evolved over time.Analysing images is another way of understanding our solar system, but how sure can we be that we have identified features correctly? This is a problem that recurs in many areas, from face recognition systems to MRI scans. We have developed a new approach and will be using it to study the record of impact events on the Moon's surface and the evolution of drainage systems on Mars.It is an exciting time where our view of our place in the universe is evolving rapidly as we bring new techniques to the problem of understanding our solar system. As part of this funding we will continue to pursue the new developments that will help future generations of planetary scientists gain clearer insights into the history of our solar system and ourselves.