It would certainly be incorrect to say that the next guest speaker at the Nanaimo Astronomy Society has stones in his head, but they certainly come first in his mind, especially rocks from Mars.
Chris Hurd is Professor of Earth and Atmospheric Science at the University of Alberta and curator of the University Meteorite Collection, the largest meteorite collection at the University of Canada. He is also one of 15 scientists in the world to help NASA choose where to take samples from the Martian surface nucleus collected by Mars Perseverance. These samples will one day be returned to Earth.
“One of the main goals of the mission of the rover Perseverance is to collect these samples… and get a good set of different samples, which will then be sealed in test tubes,” said Hurd.
Perseverance takes small samples of rock core, seals them in test tubes and then puts them in hiding places or depots. The current sampling plan includes a second rover called a “retrieving rover” that will collect the samples, load them into a separate landing module, which, once loaded, will launch from the surface of Mars and orbit the planet.
“So these are already two spaceships… and then there has to be another one, an orbital mission, to meet the sample container in it, take that container, and then turn around and head for Earth,” said Hurd.
Herd’s presentation will focus on the mission of the rover Perseverance, how it collects samples and what has been achieved so far, “as well as all the other great things the rover can do. The images we receive. The scale analysis we do before we get a sample of it and stuff like that.
Hurd’s fascination with rocks began when he was 13 and decided he really wanted to explore the first Martian rocks brought to Earth.
“I grew up around geology. “My father was a retired curator of the National Meteorite Collection in Ottawa and did a lot of field work in geology, especially in the summer when I was growing up, and I just started loving geology at an early age,” he said. “It was somewhere around that time when I was reading science fiction, Isaac Azimov and other authors, when I thought, wow, just think about everything that goes into geology and the Earth. Imagine trying to do this on another planet. “
Hurd said that Mars is very similar to Earth, but at the same time completely different, because it has made a different turn in its 4.5 billion-year history and has become unable to accept life.
“At some point, we now know, he could probably be able to shelter life for sure – maybe microbial life,” he said.
Hurd explained the role of scientists involved in NASA’s sample return program is to document the authors of the samples and help decide where to take samples.
“Ultimately, our job is to take a set of samples … The suite involves representative samples of rocks that you pass through the field, which will allow you to answer these key questions when you return them to the lab,” Hurd said. “It’s our job to make sure we get a good set of samples with all the documentation on where they’re collected and when and how, and we hope that will eventually force NASA and the European Space Agency to make sure.” that these follow … on missions to bring them back to Earth eventually. “
Hurd studied meteorites that were originally ejected from the surface of Mars by natural forces and fell to Earth – about 170 of them were collected – but they contain no information or evidence of life because they are geologically too young, perhaps several hundred million years old. Rocks ranging from 2 billion to 2.5 billion years old are needed – the period in which life could begin to form on Mars – and can only be collected from certain areas of the Martian surface where the rover operates.
“The ideal thing would be to actually find evidence of ancient life,” Hurd said. “That’s the ultimate goal.”
Herd spoke at the Nanaimo Astronomy Society meeting on Thursday, April 28, at 7:00 p.m. Non-members are welcome to attend one NAS meeting for free. To learn more about NAS and how to join a meeting, visit www.nanaimoastronomy.com.
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