Unravelling the Secrets of Early Solar System Processes Through Laboratory Investigations of Regolith from a Type C Asteroid
Lead Research Organisation:
The Open University
Department Name: Faculty of Sci, Tech, Eng & Maths (STEM)
Abstract
One of the biggest challenges with the study of extra-terrestrial samples is that much of the geological context is missing, whereas on Earth we can have access to field information about location, orientation, surrounding rocks, etc before even collecting a sample and subsequent laboratory analyses. On-going space missions (OSIRIS-Rex and Hayabusa2) to primitive C-type asteroids (likely parent bodies for carbonaceous chondrite meteorites) are scheduled to return grams to kgs of material in the early 2020s. They will collect samples from a specific asteroid, but the samples they collect will be grabbed from the well-mixed surface regolith, which by its very nature contains little geological context.
Organisations
Studentship Projects
| Project Reference | Relationship | Related To | Start | End | Student Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ST/S505614/1 | 01/10/2018 | 30/09/2022 | |||
| 2131594 | Studentship | ST/S505614/1 | 01/10/2018 | 31/08/2022 | Ross Findlay |
| Description | Moon night 2018 at The Open University |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Moon Night is an annual educational even held at The Open University in Milton Keynes, UK. Members of the public are able to register to attend and engage in a wide variety of outreach activities, like - Holding and asking questions about an assortment of real meteorites - Seeing real Apollo samples in the flesh - Learning about the moon, the moon landings and future plans through interactive activities and a blow-up planetarium - Learn about living on the moon, including building infrastructure and creating water - Having a go at a range of scientific activities, including using a real microscope or the Open University's Virtual Microscope I oversaw the "meteorite or meteorwrong" exercise |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | http://stadium.open.ac.uk/stadia/preview.php?s=1&whichevent=3187&option=past&record=10 |
| Description | Moon night 2019 at The Open University |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Moon Night is an annual educational even held at The Open University in Milton Keynes, UK. Members of the public are able to register to attend and engage in a wide variety of outreach activities, like - Holding and asking questions about an assortment of real meteorites - Seeing real Apollo samples in the flesh - Learning about the moon, the moon landings and future plans through interactive activities and a blow-up planetarium - Learn about living on the moon, including building infrastructure and creating water - Having a go at a range of scientific activities, including using a real microscope or the Open University's Virtual Microscope I oversaw the "meteorite exhibition" exercise |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | http://www.open.ac.uk/science/physical-science/events/moon-night-2019-living-moon |
| Description | Royal Society Summer Exhibition 2019 - Living on the Moon |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The "Living on the Moon!" exhibit at the Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition 2019 is an interactive experience highlighting the progress of lunar science since the Apollo 11 Moon landings 50 years ago. Our exhibit illustrates the journey from Moon landing, to Lunar sample science, to the current generation of Moon rovers looking for water on the Moon, and provides a look forward to the next 50 years and a vision of a permanent human presence on the Moon. I aided Tara Hayden in the design of the apparel (black polo shirts). Helped construct the large gantry for the exhibition, and spent two days at the Royal Society engaging with the public about a range of Lunar topics. I mostly discussed the geography of the moon, walking around with a blow up moon ball. When I wasn't doing this I was guarding and explaining the "big lunar" meteorite. I also helped pack away. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | http://www.open.ac.uk/science/physical-science/events/living-moon-royal-society-summer-science-exhib... |
| Description | The Moon Under the Microscope - Edinburgh Science Festival April 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Took a range of meteorites, apollo samples and more to the Edinburgh Science Festival, 2019 to educate the public and allow the to discover and handle meteorites. Included in our range of activities was the demonstration of a remote Scanning Electron Microscope which had a live feed to stall and people were able to learn about optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | http://www.open.ac.uk/scotland/events/moon-under-microscope-edinburgh-science-festival |