Arya Udry (Geoscience), was awarded two NASA program grants. One is a three-year, $330,540 NASA Solar System Working Program grant titled, "Petrogenesis of Poikilitic Shergottites and Implications for Martian Geochemical Reservoirs." This grant is to study a comprehensive suite of Martian meteorites called the poikilitic shergottites. These meteorites are exceptional because they record the evolution of the magma from the mantle to the surface of Mars. They also provide significant information about geochemical heterogeneities in the Martian interior.
The other is a NASA Planetary Major Equipment Program grant for $240,250. The grant is for the acquisition of a new laser ablation system at UNLV. The new equipment will be coupled with assistant professor Shichun Huang’s inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer. This instrument will allow them to measure trace elements (<1%) in minerals. Trace elements can be analyzed for many geological purposes; for example, to understand the origin of sedimentary rocks, alteration processes, and magma evolution and sources.
