Toward a Realistic Model of the Formation of Terrestrial Planets and Water Delivery

A team from the Planetary Science Institute will study the origin of planet Earth and its oceans by answering how Earth formed and how a large amount of water appeared on it. This project has the potential to explain how the moon formed, how many times in the past Earth was hit by asteroids, and whether it will be hit again. The origin of Earth and other small planets of our solar system, especially Mars and Venus is unknown.

Revealing how these planets form will shed light on whether life existed on other planets, and whether they have the resources needed for permanent human presence. The team have developed a detailed plan on involving undergraduate and high school students in summer projects, reaching out to minorities and under-represented communities.

Although many efforts have been made to determine how Earth formed, no realistic modeling yet exists. The work of the investigators will advance our knowledge of the formation of Earth and the origin of its water by presenting the most accurate pathway to the formation of the inner solar system. The investigators have developed a novel approach in which they use computer simulations to accurately create collisions between large bodies (as large as asteroids and moons) and follow the process until a complete planet has formed.

The team have developed a mechanism to demonstrate how water is transferred from one object to the other during large collisions, and how it reaches the region of space where Earth forms. The team have created a unique computer code that can carry out all these processes simultaneously. They plan to perform several hundred computer simulations and study the results to identify the most viable mechanism for the formation of Earth and its water.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.