Preparing for Mars sample return - Oxygen isotope analysis of martian meteorites

One of the major reasons for returning Martian samples to Earth is to be able to analyse them using sophisticated laboratory techniques that cannot be flown on spacecraft [1]. Careful preparation and planning are required in advance of Mars Sample Return (MSR) to ensure that the maximum amount of information is extracted from these very important materials

[2]. Equipping early-career scientists with the scientific understanding and technical skills required to maximize the benefit from MSR is a particularly high priority. These are not easy tasks, and they take time. We are fortunate to have in our sample repositories a range of Mars-derived materials that can be used to prepare for MSR.

This studentship will provide a training opportunity that is relevant to the science aims of MSR. It will also involve developing the sample-handling techniques needed once Martian samples are returned to Earth. Oxygen is a key element present in the Martian hydrosphere, lithosphere and atmosphere. Isotopic analysis of oxygen in Martian samples can be used to

fingerprint critical processes involving the interaction of gases, fluids and rocks. These processes will help us to understand whether Mars is, or ever was, a habitable planet. But this information is not easily extracted from Martian rocks. We have developed a series of techniques that allow us to remove well-defined, small amounts of material from Martian

samples and then to analyse their oxygen isotopic composition to a high level of precision. These techniques will allow us to understand both global and local scale processes on Mars. The information extracted from these samples will help us to understand how the Martian atmosphere and hydrosphere interact on a planet-wide scale and also how hydrothermal

interaction between rocks and fluids occurred more locally.