A Consolidated Grant Proposal for Solar and Planetary Science at the University of Leicester, 2019 - 2022

我们提出了一个世界级的研究方案，重点关注与我们的太阳系有关的两个主要研究领域。第一个涉及研究行星的外部环境，在那里气体处于等离子体(电离)状态，这样它不仅能感受到行星的引力，而且还能与其磁场发生强烈的相互作用。在第二个区域，我们试图通过详细研究火星样本的组成来研究太阳系天体的起源和发展，以及对生命演化的影响，这些样本将提供关于行星表面演化方式、与水的相互作用以及表面和大气之间的相互作用的信息。第一个区域的先前工作表明，行星的外部环境变化很大，这取决于与从外部持续吹来的等离子风的相互作用，以及与行星及其内部卫星的相互作用。太阳风容易爆发，导致地球上的磁暴和明亮的极光，而且在11年的太阳周期中，随着距离太阳的距离而发生强烈的变化。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，以及是否有活动的卫星在附近运行。我们将利用航天器的数据来研究靠近太阳但有磁场但几乎没有大气的水星(信使号任务)，更远有大气但没有强磁场以防止被太阳风侵蚀的火星(火星快车和MAVEN)，以及中等距离同时有大气和磁场的地球(使用一些飞行任务(Irdium卫星星座、Van Allen探测器、ARASE)和地面设施(SuperDARN和SuperMAG)的数据)。我们还将利用在木星和土星的新的朱诺任务中获得的数据，结合使用哈勃太空望远镜在紫外线波长和使用大型地面望远镜在红外波长对极光的观测，来研究强磁化的巨行星木星和土星。极光是由在外部环境和上层电离大气之间流动的大规模电流引起的，这些大气在这些区域之间传播力。总体重点将放在外部太阳风、行星周围的磁场(如果有的话)和内部的行星大气或表面的复杂物理过程上。最后，结合陨石的电子显微镜和同步加速器X射线能谱以及模拟流体反应的实验，我们将提供最详细的火星陨石碳酸盐和共生粘土的矿物学分析和形成模式。由此，我们将讨论火星热液地壳流体的性质，并测试与之相关的古大气电流模型。第三，火星火成岩地壳形成的关键过程，特别是主要熔体类型的形成，将受到陨石和着陆器数据建模的限制，从而能够与其他行星上的差异进行比较。

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 Mars, which will provide information on the way in which the surface of the planet has evolved, interactions with water, and interactions between surface and the atmosphere.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 (Iridium satellite constellation, van Allen probes, Arase) and ground based facilities (SuperDARN and SuperMAG). We will also study the strongly magnetized giant planets Jupiter and Saturn 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. Finally, using a combination of electron microscopy and synchrotron-based X-ray spectroscopy of meteorites and experiments on analogue-fluid reactions, we will provide the most detailed mineralogical analyses and formation models of martian meteorite carbonates and co-existing clays. From this, we will address the nature of martian hydrothermal crustal fluids, and test associated current models for the ancient atmosphere. Thirdly, key processes in the formation of the martian igneous crust, in particular the formation of the main melt types, will be constrained by modelling meteorite and lander data, enabling comparisons to differentiation on other planets.