Descrizione del progetto
Uno studio per offrire nuove informazioni sulla composizione dell’acqua presente sul Marte primordiale
Nella documentazione mineralogica e geomorfologica vi sono numerose prove di abbondanti corpi stagnanti di acqua liquida sul Marte del passato; per di più, sembra che su molte aree di grande superficie fossero presenti dei ghiacciai. Nonostante questi indizi, sono tuttora molte le questioni riguardanti le proprietà fisico-chimiche dell’acqua su Marte a non avere ancora una risposta. Il progetto MarsFirstWater, finanziato dall’UE, utilizza una combinazione di set di dati provenienti da missioni con veicoli spaziali, esperimenti di laboratorio, simulazioni a computer e lavoro sul campo in analoghi terrestri per acquisire una comprensione quantitativa delle caratteristiche di base dell’acqua sul Marte primordiale. Il progetto combina ricostruzioni paleogeomorfologiche e modelli geochimici in congiunzione a studi mineralogici e astrobiologici allo scopo di porre stretti vincoli sull’evoluzione fisica, sull’alterazione chimica e sull’abitabilità degli ambienti acquatici sulla superficie e in prossimità della superficie di Marte.
Obiettivo
Concepts of large bodies of glacial ice and liquid standing water, a robust hydrological cycle, and a rich Martian history of climate change are part of the current consensus model for early Mars. However, questions still poorly constrained include: a precise understanding of the inventory of water during the first billion years of Mars history and its early evolution on both global and local scales; whether liquid or solid H2O dominated, for what duration of time and where the water resided; what were the host-rock weathering rates and patterns and the physicochemical parameters defining such interactions; what specific landforms and mineralogies were generated during those periods; and what implications all these processes had on the possible inception of life on Mars. These fundamental questions represent large uncertainties and knowledge gaps. Therefore, a quantitative understanding of the basic characteristics of water on early Mars is very much needed and is the focus of this proposal.
This application outlines a plan for my research in the next five years, and explains how I propose to fully characterize the aqueous environments of early Mars through a quantitative and truly interdisciplinary investigation. Spacecraft mission-derived datasets will be consistently used to test hypotheses through paleogeomorphological reconstructions, geochemical modeling, mineralogical studies, and astrobiological investigations. The derived results will produce hard constraints on the physical evolution, chemical alteration and habitability of surface and near-surface aqueous environments on early Mars. The planned investigations will benefit from the combination of working with first-hand data from ongoing Mars missions and with the state-of-the-art laboratory tools at the host institution. The final expected result will be a complete understanding of the physicochemical nature of water on early Mars, also opening new paths for the astrobiological exploration of the planet.
Campo scientifico
- engineering and technologymechanical engineeringvehicle engineeringaerospace engineeringastronautical engineeringspacecraft
- humanitieshistory and archaeologyhistory
- natural sciencesphysical sciencesastronomyplanetary sciencesplanets
- natural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencesgeologymineralogy
- natural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencesatmospheric sciencesclimatologyclimatic changes
Parole chiave
Programma(i)
Argomento(i)
Meccanismo di finanziamento
ERC-COG - Consolidator GrantIstituzione ospitante
28006 Madrid
Spagna