The cosmic carbon observatory

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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.

该研究计划旨在了解太阳系早期历史上的关键过程，包括行星机构的建设和破坏，以及提供一些生命的一些关键要素，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制成的“碳质”小行星。如果这些小行星的足够碎片在其历史的早期就落到了地球，那么它们可能会引入足够的水和有机物来帮助生活。为了认识到它们的科学重要性，目前由NASA和日本航空航天勘探局分别研究了两个名为Bennu和Ryugu的碳质小行星，名为Bennu和Ryugu。这些航天器已收集样品以传递到地球。 Hayabusa2在2020年12月成功交付了约5 g的Ryugu。我们将研究这些样品，以了解小行星现在含有多少水。一种理论是，现在的水比小行星形成时更少，并且由于从内部加热小行星时就会丢失。我们将尝试通过分析Ryugu的样本，并使用实验中的信息来解释这些问题。这些实验将模拟小行星内部加热的影响，并通过氢和氦气从太阳（称为太阳风）对Ryugu的表面进行照射。在另一个项目中，我们将研究相同的太阳风辐射过程如何增加水以完全干燥太阳系诞生的灰尘磁盘中。我们还将评估此过程创造的水的多少，可以在无空世界的表面上提供可访问的资源。这项工作将使用已经暴露于小行星和月球表面太阳风的外星材料。除了这项工作之外，实验将模仿太阳风对矿物晶粒的影响。两组样品中的水量将使用一种称为Atom探针层析成像的新技术来测量；该技术使科学家可以在样品和三个维度中看到各种类型和水分子的原子的位置。碳质小行星的形成，压实和水性进化以及最初在原始系统中存在的碳质量，其中有多少个是一个热烈的讨论主题。可以通过探索从这些物体返回的陨石和样品的微观结构和质地来理解这些原始体内过程中多样性的线索。使用由大数据原则支撑的多维相关方法，我们将通过它们的质地进行分组，并因此了解原始小行星上工作中的主要过程，并限制其中有多少。为了将碎片发送到地球，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发生了更暴力的事件，导致汞或火星大小的身体破裂。这个行星大小的身体的碎片已落在地球上，如尿路陨石。这些岩石非常特别，因为它们含有富含碳的矿物质，包括钻石，它们来自地球内部。这些矿物质和发生的岩石的化学成分可以告诉我们有关这个注定行星的碳循环，以及其他行星如何形成和进化。宇宙碳天文台将利用尖端的相关微观微观对珍贵的外皮材料的原子尺度分析，从而改变我们对溶解碳质碳的理解。