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Project Progress

The overall goal of this project is to comprehend the chemical evolution of the Solar System. This will be achieved through an understanding of the formation of carbon-, hydrogen-, oxygen-, and nitrogen-bearing (CHON) molecules in ices of Kuiper Belt Objects (KBOs) by reproducing the space environment in a specially designed experimental setup. KBOs are small planetary bodies orbiting the sun beyond the planet Neptune, which are considered as the most primitive objects in the Solar System. A study of KBOs is important because they resemble natural ‘time capsules’ at a frozen stage before life developed on Earth. Our methodology is based on a comparison of the molecules formed in the experiments with the current composition of KBOs; such approach provides an exceptional potential to reconstruct the composition of icy Solar System bodies at the time of their formation billions of years ago. The significance of this project is that our studies elucidate the origin of biologically relevant molecules and help unravel the chemical evo¬lution of the Solar System. Since KBOs are believed to be the main reservoir of short-period comets, which are considered as 'delivery systems’ of biologically important molecules to the early Earth, our project also brings us closer to the understanding of how life might have emerged on Earth.

At this time, the overall concept of the machine has been through 3 separate revisions to refine the design so that each instrument can be operated under optimum conditions. The technical drawings have been completed and sent out to companies for quotations. The renovations within the department are scheduled to be completed by the Universities facilities team by summer of 2010. Most of the instruments have already arrived and we are in the process of testing them on the smaller solid state machine we currently have installed in our laboratory.