UoP2 Mars Consortium

The question of whether Mars could have supported life has driven intensive exploration of the planet's surface through satellite and robotic missions. Complementary research has focused on identifying and understanding meteorites from Mars, which offer the only direct samples of the crust available to science. Together, these studies have not only sought signs of extraterrestrial life and habitable environments, but tried to understand how the planet has changed through time: from an ancient world of oceans and landforms remarkably familiar to Earth, to the cold, dry, barren planet that we see today. Why Mars has followed a dramatically different path to Earth is a major issue in our understanding of terrestrial planet evolution. How has Mars lost heat? Has volcanism and volcanic outgassing changed through time? Is volcanism and seismic activity ongoing? How has impact cratering shaped the planet through time?

It has become clear that much of the surface of Mars is very ancient, and that its rocks retain direct evidence of the planet's separation into a crust and mantle. As a result, volcanism is thought to be driven by mantle plumes, rather by tectonic forces at plate boundaries as on Earth, and to have reduced rapidly in intensity to a minimum as the planet has cooled. This relatively simple geological model compared to the Earth suggests declining rates of exchange between the surface, atmosphere and interior through time, including the cycling of potential nutrients, heat loss and volcanism.

This view has been challenged by recent evidence for considerable diversity in volcanic and sedimentary rocks and processes on Mars. However, new understanding of the planet is hindered by a mismatch between Martian meteorites and rock types seen on the surface, as well as a lack of reliable age information that can be used to test how the crust, mantle and atmosphere have evolved and interacted through time. Addressing these issues is a primary aim of ongoing and new Mars exploration missions, including NASA InSight and Mars 2020 and the ESA ExoMars Rover, and also requires resolution of conundrums in the Martian meteorite collection.

The UoP2 Mars Consortium brings together internationally leading expertise in Martian meteorites, radiometric dating and planetary geology to address these challenges. Two related projects will capitalize on conceptual and analytical advances in the laboratory analysis of planetary materials led by the applicants, as well as the rapidly growing inventory of Martian meteorites in collections around the world, to generate new datasets and knowledge.

Project 1, entitled "Secular evolution of Martian magmatism" focuses on placing robust new age constraints on Martian volcanic processes. Previously, this has been very difficult because the samples have experience extreme compression and heating during impact events, which disturb the isotopic systems used for dating. We will overcome this using advances led by Darling in identifying nanoscale deformation features in dateable crystals that can be avoided or targeted for radiometric dating using the latest techniques in mass spectrometry.

Project 2, entitled 'Martian Breccias; the missing link in the search for Meteorite Source Regions on Mars?' focuses on linking the meteoritic and remote sensing records to build a more complete picture of the Martian crust. This will be achieved by resolving the origin and spectral signature of newly discovered brecciated rocks that offer uniquely broad sampling of Martian crustal rocks through clasts of different origin, in combination with new and compiled data on the mineralogy and geochemistry for other Martian meteorite groupings.

The results will lead to new holistic models for Martian geological evolution. This new knowledge will help to address one of the four Science Challenges of the STFC Science Roadmap1: How do stars and planetary systems develop and is life unique to our planet?

This project will advance our understanding of the origin and diversity of Martian meteorites alongside the evolution of the Martian surface. The research will contribute to two main themes; 1) meteoritics and the necessity to revisit classification schemes, source regions and formation ages for the Martian meteorites as the collection grows and 2) planetary science and the coupling of meteorites to spacecraft data in order to better understand the evolution of the Martian surface through time. Publication of this research in internationally renowned peer-reviewed journals will highlight the importance to planetary science and the interdisciplinary nature of space exploration. The addition of new petrological, geochemical and Martian-specific mineral spectroscopic data to global online databases will ensure the science is widely accessible by the planetary community for future work and the generation of new robust ages will provide a new framework with which to evaluate the magmatic, weathering and atmospheric evolution of Mars. The resulting datasets and conceptual advances will benefit a range of scientists, from planetary geologists, astrobiologists and meteoriticists trying to understand planetary evolution and its controls on habitability, to isotope geochemists and spectroscopists who will benefit from analytical and conceptual advances in the laboratory analysis of complex planetary materials. The results will directly inform ongoing and future Mars exploration missions, including InSight (new constraints on the thermal evolution of Mars), Curiosity, ExoMars and Mars 2020 (new understanding of surface rock types, habitability and geological evolution), as well as targeting of future sample return missions (constraints on meteorite source craters and crustal diversity).

It is a particularly exciting time to be involved with planetary science; several recent missions have generated a huge public following (e.g. Curiosity/MSL, Rosetta/Philae, Juno etc.) as well as private companies inspiring the next generation of engineers and scientists (e.g. SpaceX). The return of British astronaut Tim Peake from the International Space Station also generated a significant amount of interest in all things space, and we hope to continue this work by raising awareness of the forthcoming ExoMars, Mars 2020 and InSight missions, alongside other active Martian missions, in addition to providing a physical component to this mix by way of the meteorite samples themselves, in order to capture the public's imagination. The most direct benefit in this regard will be improved understanding of these meteorites that can be communicated through museum collections and exhibits around the world, such as our project partner the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto and collaborators at the Natural History Museum, London. Impact will be generated by involving the wider community in various outreach activities, including university or facility open days, public talks or demonstrations at local venues (City Museums, Astronomical Societies etc.) or focused engagement activities such as the award-winning 'Girls into Geoscience'. The project also aims to make the formalised research as accessible as possible; publishing the data in open-access journals making the work accessible to the public will ensure the research gains wide exposure.

The PDRAs themselves, along with collaborators on the projects will benefit from being equipped with unique research approaches and experience to go on and drive forward planetary science. The PDRAs will be encouraged to network at workshops and meetings and develop their own collaborations with other laboratories/research institutions in order to extend their skill set and develop future career prospects. The Applicants will also benefit from this new Consortium, which provides new collaborative opportunities and growth of research networks going forward.