Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE170100106
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$780,000.00
Summary
A global fireball observatory. This project aims to expand the Desert Fireball Network (DFN) and build a Global Fireball Observatory. Nearly everything known about the origin and evolution of the solar system comes from analysis of meteorite falls, but scientists have almost no constraint on where they come from. This project will address this constraint by tracking hundreds of meteorite falls, and pinpointing each one’s origin in the solar system. Benefits include capitalising on the innovation ....A global fireball observatory. This project aims to expand the Desert Fireball Network (DFN) and build a Global Fireball Observatory. Nearly everything known about the origin and evolution of the solar system comes from analysis of meteorite falls, but scientists have almost no constraint on where they come from. This project will address this constraint by tracking hundreds of meteorite falls, and pinpointing each one’s origin in the solar system. Benefits include capitalising on the innovations and technologies that underpinned the DFN, and leveraging a NASA partnership for administrative support and advanced instrumentation development. Tracking for space situational awareness is also expected to benefit Australian national security.Read moreRead less
The Global Fireball Observatory: Illuminating Solar System Origins. Virtually everything we know about the origin and evolution of our solar system comes from analysis of meteorites. But reading the record they contain has proven to be difficult: we have almost no constraint on where they come from. With ARC LIEF support, Australian planetary scientists are leading a consortium of 14 international teams to build a Global Fireball Observatory. The facility, with a unique global footprint, will be ....The Global Fireball Observatory: Illuminating Solar System Origins. Virtually everything we know about the origin and evolution of our solar system comes from analysis of meteorites. But reading the record they contain has proven to be difficult: we have almost no constraint on where they come from. With ARC LIEF support, Australian planetary scientists are leading a consortium of 14 international teams to build a Global Fireball Observatory. The facility, with a unique global footprint, will be complete by end-2019. It will track 100s of meteorite falls, and for each one, pinpoint its origin in the solar system. A NASA partnership will provide administrative support. Curtin University will fund its operation. The proposal here is for a researcher and student who can drive the science program.Read moreRead less
Exploring solar system origins with the Desert Fireball Network. This project aims to explore the science delivered by the Desert Fireball Network (DFN), a continent-wide facility comprising dozens of observatories across remote and regional Australia, tracking material entering the atmosphere. Meteorites record early solar system processes, but there is no constraint on where they come from. Precise orbits for recovered meteorites can solve that problem. This project will use the largest datase ....Exploring solar system origins with the Desert Fireball Network. This project aims to explore the science delivered by the Desert Fireball Network (DFN), a continent-wide facility comprising dozens of observatories across remote and regional Australia, tracking material entering the atmosphere. Meteorites record early solar system processes, but there is no constraint on where they come from. Precise orbits for recovered meteorites can solve that problem. This project will use the largest dataset of fireball orbits ever acquired, while a supercomputer imagery archive provides a way-back machine for researchers. DFN tracking of satellites, debris re-entry and overseas rocket launches directly benefits Australian national security and a mature outreach programme aims to deliver the outcomes of this research to the public.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE210100205
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$367,000.00
Summary
Searching for Life on Mars on Earth. Australia continues to play a world-leading role in researching planetary habitability. This project will deliver the most comprehensive investigation of Earth’s oldest known river/lake deposits, uniquely preserved in 2.8 billion-year-old rocks in Western Australia. Using the candidate’s expertise in field investigation in combination with a cutting-edge analytical approach, the project will produce a detailed reconstruction of the ancient lake environment. S ....Searching for Life on Mars on Earth. Australia continues to play a world-leading role in researching planetary habitability. This project will deliver the most comprehensive investigation of Earth’s oldest known river/lake deposits, uniquely preserved in 2.8 billion-year-old rocks in Western Australia. Using the candidate’s expertise in field investigation in combination with a cutting-edge analytical approach, the project will produce a detailed reconstruction of the ancient lake environment. Similar settings will be explored by NASA's upcoming Mars 2020 rover mission at it's landing site in Jezero Crater. Mission data will be analysed by the candidate, who will guide the selection of samples and address the overarching question of whether microbal life ever existed on Mars.Read moreRead less
Analysis of asteroid samples returned by Hayabusa 2 and Osiris-REx . This year sees the highly anticipated return of the Hayabusa2 spacecraft to Woomera carrying samples of the asteroid Ryugu. This is only the fifth extraterrestrial sample return mission in history. The research team has been invited to participate in the preliminary examination which will take place in Japan in early 2021. The investigators have developed unique analytical skills that allow measurement of small amounts of rock ....Analysis of asteroid samples returned by Hayabusa 2 and Osiris-REx . This year sees the highly anticipated return of the Hayabusa2 spacecraft to Woomera carrying samples of the asteroid Ryugu. This is only the fifth extraterrestrial sample return mission in history. The research team has been invited to participate in the preliminary examination which will take place in Japan in early 2021. The investigators have developed unique analytical skills that allow measurement of small amounts of rock for oxygen isotope compositions at unprecedented precision. This project aims to characterise a suite of carbonaceous chondrites, which appear to be the best match to Ryugu, and therefore will provide the exemplar data to understand the provenance of Ryugu, and place it in the context of solar system materials.
Read moreRead less
Uncovering the Chronology of Mars. This project aims to answer fundamental questions about the origin and evolution of the solar system by utilizing innovative machine learning techniques developed by our group. Starting with Mars, we will interrogate the highest resolution image data to automatically generate the ultimate resolution global age map. The expected outcomes of this project include determining the absolute ages of geologic processes on Mars to deliver a groundbreaking look at the ge ....Uncovering the Chronology of Mars. This project aims to answer fundamental questions about the origin and evolution of the solar system by utilizing innovative machine learning techniques developed by our group. Starting with Mars, we will interrogate the highest resolution image data to automatically generate the ultimate resolution global age map. The expected outcomes of this project include determining the absolute ages of geologic processes on Mars to deliver a groundbreaking look at the geology of another planet at the centimeter scale. A major benefit of this project will be enhancing Australia’s role as a leader in space and planetary science through this interdisciplinary, international collaboration across engineering, geology, computing, and chronology.Read moreRead less
Structure of crust on Mars. This project aims to start a new multidisciplinary field linking impact physics and seismology. This project involves numerical modelling of meteoroid impact-induced seismic activity on Mars, using the state-of-the-art hydro-code, a national supercomputing facility, and knowledge built on the meteorite hunting by the Dessert Fireball Network. High-resolution numerical results will aid the analyses of impact-seismic data obtained by the forthcoming InSight mission to M ....Structure of crust on Mars. This project aims to start a new multidisciplinary field linking impact physics and seismology. This project involves numerical modelling of meteoroid impact-induced seismic activity on Mars, using the state-of-the-art hydro-code, a national supercomputing facility, and knowledge built on the meteorite hunting by the Dessert Fireball Network. High-resolution numerical results will aid the analyses of impact-seismic data obtained by the forthcoming InSight mission to Mars (in 2018) with a single important aim, to decipher the crustal structure of Mars, the planet that is the most similar to the Earth in our solar system.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE180100584
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$342,949.00
Summary
Impact processes and evolution of the Martian crust. The project aims to define the crustal structure of Mars, using three-dimensional hydrodynamic modelling, experiments and geophysical data obtained from Mars. This will be achieved by the analysis of impact-related seismic data obtained by the forthcoming mission to Mars, along with already available remote sensing data of Mars. This project will start a new multidisciplinary field linking numerical impact physics and seismology.
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE210100044
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$905,654.00
Summary
Ultra-precise dating in Earth, planetary and archaeological science. An advanced facility incorporating next generation, multi-collector mass spectrometer and ultra-clean gas line systems, capable of ultra-precise dating of Earth, planetary and archaeological material. This joint Melbourne-Curtin facility seeks to generate ultra-precise age data from ever smaller and younger samples, such as minute particles from space return missions and tiny inclusions in diamonds. The facility is expected to ....Ultra-precise dating in Earth, planetary and archaeological science. An advanced facility incorporating next generation, multi-collector mass spectrometer and ultra-clean gas line systems, capable of ultra-precise dating of Earth, planetary and archaeological material. This joint Melbourne-Curtin facility seeks to generate ultra-precise age data from ever smaller and younger samples, such as minute particles from space return missions and tiny inclusions in diamonds. The facility is expected to revolutionise noble gas dating techniques, resulting in new knowledge on solar system genesis, hominid evolution, indigenous migrations, palaeo-climate change, natural hazards and ore deposit formation, while further enhancing Australia’s international leadership and competitive advantage in the discipline.
Read moreRead less
The history of accretion in our Solar System. This project aims to determine precise timing of formation and primary melting of asteroids of various compositions, and to trace the stellar sources and mixing processes that caused the compositional diversity of asteroids and planets in our Solar System. This can be attained by comprehensive study of achondrites, meteorites derived from asteroids that were once partially melted. Using the world’s foremost facilities for cosmochemical research in Au ....The history of accretion in our Solar System. This project aims to determine precise timing of formation and primary melting of asteroids of various compositions, and to trace the stellar sources and mixing processes that caused the compositional diversity of asteroids and planets in our Solar System. This can be attained by comprehensive study of achondrites, meteorites derived from asteroids that were once partially melted. Using the world’s foremost facilities for cosmochemical research in Australia and the United States of America, the processes leading to the formation of planets will be explored. This project is intended to advance fundamental knowledge of the environment in which planets emerge and evolve, and the place of our Solar System among planetary systems in the Galaxy.Read moreRead less