Characterising the ExoMars 2020 Landing Site
Lead Research Organisation:
Birkbeck, University of London
Department Name: Earth and Planetary Sciences
Abstract
After several years of landing site selection workshops and ESA Landing Site Selection Working Group (LSSWG) meetings, three possible sites for the ExoMars Rover remain: Aram Dorsum (UK-led), Oxia Planum, and Mawrth Vallis. Down-selection to the 'final and backup' sites will take place in March 2017, and final selection in 2019.
The goals of this project are to conduct geological analysis of these sites to develop testable scientific hypotheses, identify key scientific targets of interest in the landing ellipses, and to characterise major hazards to rover mobility. The student will thus play an important role in the ExoMars Rover 2020 landing site selection process. The student will carry out geological analyses of the final landing sites. Of particular importance is understanding how each site fits into the regional geology and stratigraphy. This project will use data from a wide range of different instruments, including new data collected from the CaSSIS instrument on board the ExoMars TGO mission, with two of the supervisors recently being appointed Guest Investigators. The student will also help characterise rover hazards due to both aeolian features and steep slopes, in order to assess landing hazards and surface traversability. Thus the student will play in important role in characterising the landing site for the ExoMars 2020 rover.
The goals of this project are to conduct geological analysis of these sites to develop testable scientific hypotheses, identify key scientific targets of interest in the landing ellipses, and to characterise major hazards to rover mobility. The student will thus play an important role in the ExoMars Rover 2020 landing site selection process. The student will carry out geological analyses of the final landing sites. Of particular importance is understanding how each site fits into the regional geology and stratigraphy. This project will use data from a wide range of different instruments, including new data collected from the CaSSIS instrument on board the ExoMars TGO mission, with two of the supervisors recently being appointed Guest Investigators. The student will also help characterise rover hazards due to both aeolian features and steep slopes, in order to assess landing hazards and surface traversability. Thus the student will play in important role in characterising the landing site for the ExoMars 2020 rover.
People |
ORCID iD |
| Ian Crawford (Primary Supervisor) | |
| Zachary Dickeson (Student) |
Studentship Projects
| Project Reference | Relationship | Related To | Start | End | Student Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ST/R504610/1 | 01/10/2017 | 30/09/2021 | |||
| 1967420 | Studentship | ST/R504610/1 | 01/10/2017 | 30/09/2021 | Zachary Dickeson |
| Title | The Spaceologist - Science Doodles |
| Description | A continuing project producing short comics and graphic summaries of topics related to Mars missions, planetary science, and space science. These are generally published online and on twitter, and aimed at a scientifically literate or interested audience, providing a brief summary of a space mission, concept, or area of research. In one case being invited to a conference (National Student Space Conference by UKSEDS) for the sole purpose of sketching cartoon talk summaries. |
| Type Of Art | Artwork |
| Year Produced | 2017 |
| Impact | The engagement and interest in the produced comics has been high, and led to much online discussion, and many from other researchers to use the cartoons in their own outreach activities. |
| URL | https://spaceologist624499518.wordpress.com/science-doodles/ |
| Description | Discretionary Investment Fund - Travel Grant - Ninth International Conference on Mars |
| Amount | £1,737 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Natural History Museum |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 07/2019 |
| End | 07/2019 |
| Description | Europlanet H2020 - RI project - EPSC 2018 |
| Amount | € 450 (EUR) |
| Organisation | Europlanet |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | France |
| Start | 09/2018 |
| End | 09/2018 |
| Description | ExoFit - Chile - Rover Trials |
| Organisation | Airbus Group |
| Department | Airbus Operations |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | Our team made up part of a simulated mission control at ESA headquarters in Harwell, UK, and guiding the operations of a prototype Mars rover in the Atacama desert of Chile. We were responsible for planning operations, prioritising observations, and making geological interpretations based on data sent from the rover. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Airbus provided the prototype ExoMars rover and personnel to operate its systems in Harwell and Chile. ESA provided funding for the trials, logistical support, a venue for the simulated mission control, and overall organisation of the rover trials. |
| Impact | This multi-disciplinary collaboration involved engineering, physics, and planetary sciences. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | ExoFit - Chile - Rover Trials |
| Organisation | European Space Agency |
| Department | Harwell Centre |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Our team made up part of a simulated mission control at ESA headquarters in Harwell, UK, and guiding the operations of a prototype Mars rover in the Atacama desert of Chile. We were responsible for planning operations, prioritising observations, and making geological interpretations based on data sent from the rover. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Airbus provided the prototype ExoMars rover and personnel to operate its systems in Harwell and Chile. ESA provided funding for the trials, logistical support, a venue for the simulated mission control, and overall organisation of the rover trials. |
| Impact | This multi-disciplinary collaboration involved engineering, physics, and planetary sciences. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | Big Bang Science Fair - Sutton Grammar School |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Part of a team staffing a booth with museum specimens, and speaking to school children and the general public about the meteorite and Mars research done and the Natural History Museum. High level of engagement, and many questions from visitors to the fair. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://nearme.thebigbangfair.co.uk/view/?eve_id=1833 |
| Description | Birkbeck Society for Geology & Planetary Science |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Spoke about oceans and lakes on Mars at the student run Birkbeck Society for Geology & Planetary Science. The audience expressed keen interest in pursuing the subject further, and hearing of further developments in my research, and were surprised at the detailed understanding scientists currently have of past water bodies on Mars. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Bloomberg TV Bulgaria |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Interviewed on national television in Sofia, Bulgaria, discussing Mars research and particularly the search for past life, lakes, and oceans. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Bulgarian National Radio - Isotopia |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Interviewed on national radio in Sofia, Bulgaria, discussing Mars research and particularly the search for past life, lakes, and oceans. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Essex Rock and Mineral Society |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Guest speaker at the local Essex Rock and Mineral Society, speaking about research on martian lakes and oceans. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | European Researchers Night - Natural History Museum |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | An open evening at the Natural History Museum, with my research team presenting at a booth and speaking to the public about our Mars research. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Europlanet Early Career Researchers |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Wrote an article for a monthly Europlanet feature about using cartoons and drawings to communicate science to other researchers and the general public. The article was primarily read by other postgraduate students, and led to suggestions and requests for guidance and further information about drawing for science. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.europlanet-society.org/inspiring-stories-doodling-for-science/ |
| Description | Museum Lates: Dr. Who - Science in the Fiction |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Open evening at the Natural History Museum, where I designed and presented a stall, comparing Mars science fiction to actual science knowledge as it changed throughout the 20th century. High level of interest from visitors, and many requests for more information, and advice from younger visitors on how to get involved in Mars research. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.nhm.ac.uk/events/lates.html |
| Description | Natural History Museum News - Terraforming Mars |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Provided comment and interpretation of a research article for a piece being written for the Natural History Museum's online publication. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | http://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/news/2018/july/its-official-we-cant-terraform-mars.html |
| Description | Nature Live |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Nature Live is an interview style presentation which occurs frequently at the Natural History Museum with different resident scientists. Each audience is 50-100 people, representing the wide range of ages, backgrounds, nationalities, and levels of education that are typical of visitors to the NHM. Questions are encouraged from the audience, and we see high levels of interest and engagement. I personally speak at a few of these events each year. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018,2019,2020 |
| URL | https://www.nhm.ac.uk/visit/exhibitions/nature-live.html |
| Description | PubhD/ParkhD |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Short casual talk given to a group of the general public, in this case in a local park. The audience was very interested in the subject, and asked numerous general questions about Mars exploration and research. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.facebook.com/groups/963296953768567/ |
| Description | Ratio Popular Science |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Interviewed on podcast for Ratio Popular Science, with discussion about Mars science, martian lakes and oceans. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://ratio.bg/podcast/24/ |
| Description | Ratio Popular Science Forum |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Gave an invited public talk in Sofia, Bulgaria, discussing Mars research and particularly the search for past life, lakes, and oceans. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition - Living on the Moon |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Stall set-up at the Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition, where we spoke mainly to school groups about the Moon and planetary science in general. Feedback from visitors rated this stall the highest out of any others at the event. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | http://livingonthemoon.info/ |
| Description | Three Minute Thesis Competition - Birkbeck |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | A competition in which PhD students speak for 3 minutes or less, condensing their research into a short talk aimed at an audience of the general public. The goal being to make the PhD researchers and and their subjects more accessible to the public, and communicating complex topics in a manner that is easiy understood. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqBZ6cC-2TU |
| Description | bRadio |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Interviewed on local radio in Sofia, Bulgaria, discussing Mars research and particularly the search for past life, lakes, and oceans. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | bTV |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Interviewed on national television in Sofia, Bulgaria, discussing Mars research and particularly the search for past life, lakes, and oceans. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |