Abigail Allwood

Last updated

Abigail Allwood
CitizenshipAustralian
EducationPh.D. Earth Science

B. App. Sc. (Honours First Class) (Geoscience)

B. App. Sc (Geoscience) with Distinction
Alma mater Macquarie University Queensland University of Technology
Known for
  • Principal Investigator of PIXL on the Mars 2020 Rover mission
Scientific career
Institutions
Astrobiologist in NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Abigail Allwood is an Australian geologist and astrobiologist at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) who studies stromatolites, detection of life on other planets, and evolution of life on early Earth. Her early work gained notability for finding evidence of life in 3.45 billion year old stromatolites in the Pilbara formation in Australia, which was featured on the cover of the journal Nature. [1] [2] She is now one of seven principal investigators on the Mars Rover 2020 team searching for evidence of life on Mars using the Planetary Instrument for X-Ray Lithochemistry (PIXL). [3] [4] Allwood is the first female and first Australian principal investigator on a NASA Mars mission. [5]

Contents

Early life and education

Allwood grew up in Brisbane, Australia, and was inspired by Carl Sagan and his description of the Voyager missions in the series Cosmos. [1] She attended high school at Somerville House and graduated in 1990. [6] She went on to accomplish an undergraduate degree in geosciences, and completed her PhD at Macquarie University in Australia in 2006 under the advisement of Dr. Malcolm Walter. [3] During her PhD, she published on 3.45 billion years old stromatolites in the Pilbara formation, describing the diversity of early life on the Archean Earth. [7] In 2006 Allwood's research into micro fossils won her a position at California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, working with geologist John Grotzinger. [8] She went on to do postdoctoral work at JPL, where she is currently a principal investigator for NASA on the Mars 2020 mission, with the rover named Perseverance. [9]

Research

Science Instruments on NASA's Mars 2020 Rover including the PIXL PIA19672-Mars2020Rover-ScienceInstruments-20150610.jpg
Science Instruments on NASA's Mars 2020 Rover including the PIXL

Allwood has published extensively on characterizing stromatolites using various techniques. [7] [10] [11] In 2018, she published a study of 3.7 billion years old metasedimentary rocks in the Isua formation in Greenland. In this study, she and colleagues analyzed structures which were previously determined to be biogenic stromatolites. [12] [13] However, Allwood concluded that the putatively biogenic structures were structures caused by deformation, receiving media attention. [14] [15]

Allwood led the research and development of the instrument that scans rocks for chemical signatures of life – the PIXL, miniaturising a similar instrument used to analyse the Pilbara rocks, for inclusion on the Mars Rover searching for chemical traces left by ancient microbes. [8]

She has also been involved in other aspects of the Rover missions to collect rock samples on Mars, and return them to Earth for analysis. [16]

Allwood's PIXL team of engineers at JPL and the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) have also created software to process data sent from Mars. [4]

Awards

Public Recognition

Statue of Dr Allwood on a rock, with notebook and pen at her feet. Abigail Allwood statue 20231027 130323.jpg
Statue of Dr Allwood on a rock, with notebook and pen at her feet.

In October 2023, a statue of Dr Allwood was erected in the Brisbane Botanic Gardens, Mount Coot-tha, close to the Sir Thomas Brisbane Planetarium. The plaque for the statue reads:

Abigail Allwood

Gillie and Marc, 2023

Bronze

Brisbane-born Doctor Abigail Allwood is an internationally recognised geologist and astrobiologist. Her early work gained notability for uncovering the earliest evidence of life on Earth. During her exceptional career, she joined NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory where she developed new ways to analyse the composition of rocks and soil on Mars and help provide crucial insights about Mars' history and habitability. Subsequently, Dr Allwood became the first Australian and first female scientific lead on a Mars mission.

In recognition of her distinguished career in science, this statue depicts Dr Allwood deep in contemplation, equipped with her geological tools.

Suitably located at Brisbane City Council's Sir Thomas Brisbane Planetarium, this sculpture of Dr Allwood was initiated by Brisbane resident, Malia Knox, who campaigned to recognise more females of note in public spaces. This sculpture was funded by Women in Technology Ltd (WiT) through a community campaign, with support from the Queensland Government. WiT donated the sculpture to Brisbane City Council to inspire future female scientists.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jet Propulsion Laboratory</span> Research and development center and NASA field center in California, United States

Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is a federally funded research and development center in Pasadena, California, United States. Founded in 1936 by Caltech researchers, the laboratory is now owned and sponsored by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and administered and managed by the California Institute of Technology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Archean</span> Geologic eon, 4031–2500 million years ago

The Archean Eon, in older sources sometimes called the Archaeozoic, is the second of the four geologic eons of Earth's history, preceded by the Hadean Eon and followed by the Proterozoic. The Archean represents the time period from 4,031 to 2,500 Ma. The Late Heavy Bombardment is hypothesized to overlap with the beginning of the Archean. The Huronian glaciation occurred at the end of the eon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stromatolite</span> Layered sedimentary structure formed by the growth of bacteria or algae

Stromatolites or stromatoliths are layered sedimentary formations (microbialite) that are created mainly by photosynthetic microorganisms such as cyanobacteria, sulfate-reducing bacteria, and Pseudomonadota. These microorganisms produce adhesive compounds that cement sand and other rocky materials to form mineral "microbial mats". In turn, these mats build up layer by layer, growing gradually over time. A stromatolite may grow to a meter or more. Fossilized stromatolites provide important records of some of the most ancient life. As of the Holocene, living forms are rare.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mars Exploration Rover</span> NASA mission to explore Mars via two rovers

NASA's Mars Exploration Rover (MER) mission was a robotic space mission involving two Mars rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, exploring the planet Mars. It began in 2003 with the launch of the two rovers to explore the Martian surface and geology; both landed on Mars at separate locations in January 2004. Both rovers far outlived their planned missions of 90 Martian solar days: MER-A Spirit was active until March 22, 2010, while MER-B Opportunity was active until June 10, 2018.

<i>Spirit</i> (rover) NASA Mars rover, active from 2004 to 2010

Spirit, also known as MER-A or MER-2, is a Mars robotic rover, active from 2004 to 2010. Spirit was operational on Mars for 2208 sols or 3.3 Martian years. It was one of two rovers of NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Mission managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). Spirit landed successfully within the impact crater Gusev on Mars at 04:35 Ground UTC on January 4, 2004, three weeks before its twin, Opportunity (MER-B), which landed on the other side of the planet. Its name was chosen through a NASA-sponsored student essay competition. The rover got stuck in a "sand trap" in late 2009 at an angle that hampered recharging of its batteries; its last communication with Earth was on March 22, 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marble Bar, Western Australia</span> Town in Western Australia

Marble Bar is a town and rock formation in the Pilbara region of north-western Western Australia. It was the social centre of European settlers in the Pilbara region during the early 1900s, predating the construction of other towns now established.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paleoarchean</span> Second era of the Archean Eon

The Paleoarchean, also spelled Palaeoarchaean, is a geologic era within the Archean Eon. The name derives from Greek "Palaios" ancient. It spans the period of time 3,600 to 3,200 million years ago. The era is defined chronometrically and is not referenced to a specific level of a rock section on Earth. The earliest confirmed evidence of life comes from this era, and Vaalbara, one of Earth's earliest supercontinents, may have formed during this era.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isua Greenstone Belt</span> Archean greenstone belt in southwestern Greenland

The Isua Greenstone Belt is an Archean greenstone belt in southwestern Greenland, aged between 3.7 and 3.8 billion years. The belt contains variably metamorphosed mafic volcanic and sedimentary rocks, and is the largest exposure of Eoarchaean supracrustal rocks on Earth. Due to its age and low metamorphic grade relative to many Eoarchaean rocks, the Isua Greenstone Belt has become a focus for investigations on the emergence of life and the style of tectonics that operated on the early Earth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pilbara Craton</span> Old and stable part of the continental lithosphere located in Pilbara, Western Australia

The Pilbara Craton is an old and stable part of the continental lithosphere located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jezero (crater)</span> Crater on Mars

Jezero is a crater on Mars in the Syrtis Major quadrangle, about 45.0 km (28.0 mi) in diameter. Thought to have once been flooded with water, the crater contains a fan-delta deposit rich in clays. The lake in the crater was present when valley networks were forming on Mars. Besides having a delta, the crater shows point bars and inverted channels. From a study of the delta and channels, it was concluded that the lake inside the crater probably formed during a period in which there was continual surface runoff.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Warrawoona Group</span>

The Warrawoona Group is a geological unit in Western Australia containing putative fossils of cyanobacteria cells. Dated 3.465 Ga, these microstructures, found in Archean chert, are considered to be the oldest known geological record of life on Earth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John P. Grotzinger</span>

John P. Grotzinger is the Fletcher Jones Professor of Geology at California Institute of Technology and chair of the Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences. His works primarily focus on chemical and physical interactions between life and the environment. In addition to biogeological studies done on Earth, Grotzinger is also active in research into the geology of Mars and has made contributions to NASA's Mars Exploration Program.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Archean life in the Barberton Greenstone Belt</span> Some of the most widely accepted fossil evidence for Archean life

The Barberton Greenstone Belt of eastern South Africa contains some of the most widely accepted fossil evidence for Archean life. These cell-sized prokaryote fossils are seen in the Barberton fossil record in rocks as old as 3.5 billion years. The Barberton Greenstone Belt is an excellent place to study the Archean Earth due to exposed sedimentary and metasedimentary rocks.

<i>Curiosity</i> (rover) NASA robotic rover exploring Gale crater on Mars

Curiosity is a car-sized Mars rover exploring Gale crater and Mount Sharp on Mars as part of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission. Curiosity was launched from Cape Canaveral (CCAFS) on November 26, 2011, at 15:02:00 UTC and landed on Aeolis Palus inside Gale crater on Mars on August 6, 2012, 05:17:57 UTC. The Bradbury Landing site was less than 2.4 km (1.5 mi) from the center of the rover's touchdown target after a 560 million km (350 million mi) journey.

<i>Sojourner</i> (rover) First NASA Mars rover on Mars Pathfinder mission

Sojourner is a robotic Mars rover that landed in the Ares Vallis channel in the Chryse Planitia region of the Oxia Palus quadrangle on July 4, 1997. Sojourner was operational on Mars for 92 sols. It was the first wheeled vehicle to rove on a planet other than Earth and formed part of the Mars Pathfinder mission.

Timeline of <i>Opportunity</i> Robotic rover that was active on the planet Mars from 2004 to 2018

Opportunity is a robotic rover that was active on the planet Mars from 2004 to 2018. Launched on July 7, 2003, Opportunity landed on Mars' Meridiani Planum on January 25, 2004, at 05:05 Ground UTC, three weeks after its twin Spirit (MER-A), also part of NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Mission, touched down on the other side of the planet. While Spirit became immobile in 2009 and ceased communications in 2010, Opportunity exceeded its planned 90 sol duration of activity by 14 years 46 days. Opportunity continued to move, gather scientific observations, and report back to Earth until 2018. What follows is a summary of events during its continuing mission.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Earliest known life forms</span> Putative fossilized microorganisms found near hydrothermal vents

The earliest known life forms on Earth are believed to be fossilized microorganisms found in laminated chert and microfossils in hydrothermal vent precipitates, considered to be about 3.43 and 3.42 billion years old, respectively. The earliest time for the origin of life on Earth is at least 3.5 billion years ago, possibly as early as 4.1 billion years ago — not long after the oceans formed 4.5 billion years ago, and after the formation of the Earth 4.54 billion years ago. The earliest direct known life on land may be stromatolites which have been found in 3.480-billion-year-old geyserite uncovered in the Dresser Formation of the Pilbara Craton of Western Australia and, as well, microfossils of microorganisms permineralized in 3.465-billion-year-old Apex chert rocks from the same Australian craton region. The earliest indirect evidence of life comes from 4.1 Ga biologically fractionated graphite in the Jack Hills range of Australia, and the earliest biomarker evidence of aerobic life is dated at 2.7 Ga.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bethany Ehlmann</span> American planetary scientist

Bethany List Ehlmann is a professor of Planetary Science at California Institute of Technology and a Research Scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

<i>Perseverance</i> (rover) NASA Mars rover deployed in 2021

Perseverance, nicknamed Percy, is a car-sized Mars rover designed to explore the Jezero crater on Mars as part of NASA's Mars 2020 mission. It was manufactured by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and launched on July 30, 2020, at 11:50 UTC. Confirmation that the rover successfully landed on Mars was received on February 18, 2021, at 20:55 UTC. As of 15 December 2023, Perseverance has been active on Mars for 1003 sols since its landing. Following the rover's arrival, NASA named the landing site Octavia E. Butler Landing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jennifer Eigenbrode</span> American astrobiologist

Jennifer Eigenbrode is an interdisciplinary astrobiologist who works at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. She specializes in organic chemistry, geology, and organic bio-geochemistry of martian and ocean-world environments.

References

  1. 1 2 Parker, Laura (June 2018). "Can Abigail Allwood Find Life on Mars?". The Atlantic. ISSN   1072-7825 . Retrieved 5 December 2018.
  2. ↑ "Volume 441 Issue 7094, 8 June 2006" . nature.com. 7 June 2006. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
  3. 1 2 "Is there life on Mars?". BBC Culture. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
  4. 1 2 "'I can't believe it': This Australian's invention is landing on Mars this week". ABC News. 16 February 2021. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
  5. ↑ Moore, Nicky Phillips, Tony (5 August 2014). "Australian scientist Abigail Allwood first woman to lead project team for life on Mars". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 5 December 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. ↑ "Alumnae". Somerville House. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
  7. 1 2 Burch, Ian W.; Marshall, Craig P.; Kamber, Balz S.; Walter, Malcolm R.; Allwood, Abigail C. (2006). "Stromatolite reef from the Early Archaean era of Australia". Nature. 441 (7094): 714–718. Bibcode:2006Natur.441..714A. doi:10.1038/nature04764. ISSN   1476-4687. PMID   16760969. S2CID   4417746.
  8. 1 2 3 "Abigail Allwood: Tooling up for Mars". cosmosmagazine.com. 1 February 2016. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
  9. ↑ "Abigail Allwood". science.jpl.nasa.gov. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
  10. ↑ Kanik, Isik; Coleman, Max L.; Anderson, Mark S.; Burch, Ian W.; Knoll, Andrew H.; Grotzinger, John P.; Allwood, Abigail C. (16 June 2009). "Controls on development and diversity of Early Archean stromatolites". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 106 (24): 9548–9555. Bibcode:2009PNAS..106.9548A. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0903323106 . ISSN   1091-6490. PMC   2700989 . PMID   19515817.
  11. ↑ Allwood, Abigail C.; Kamber, Balz S.; Walter, Malcolm R.; Burch, Ian W.; Kanik, Isik (15 February 2010). "Trace elements record depositional history of an Early Archean stromatolitic carbonate platform". Chemical Geology. 270 (1–4): 148–163. Bibcode:2010ChGeo.270..148A. doi:10.1016/j.chemgeo.2009.11.013. ISSN   0009-2541.
  12. ↑ Heirwegh, Christopher M.; Hurowitz, Joel A.; Flannery, David T.; Rosing, Minik T.; Allwood, Abigail C. (2018). "Reassessing evidence of life in 3,700-million-year-old rocks of Greenland". Nature. 563 (7730): 241–244. Bibcode:2018Natur.563..241A. doi:10.1038/s41586-018-0610-4. ISSN   1476-4687. PMID   30333621. S2CID   52987320.
  13. ↑ Chivas, Allan R.; Kranendonk, Martin J. Van; Friend, Clark R. L.; Bennett, Vickie C.; Nutman, Allen P. (2016). "Rapid emergence of life shown by discovery of 3,700-million-year-old microbial structures". Nature. 537 (7621): 535–538. Bibcode:2016Natur.537..535N. doi:10.1038/nature19355. ISSN   1476-4687. PMID   27580034. S2CID   205250494.
  14. ↑ Maya Wei-Haas (17 October 2018). "'World's oldest fossils' may just be pretty rocks". National Geographic. Archived from the original on 17 October 2018. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
  15. ↑ Yong, Ed (17 October 2018). "Oops, the Oldest Fossils Ever Found Might Be Just Rocks". The Atlantic. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
  16. ↑ "What has Perseverance found in two years on Mars?". 17 February 2023. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
  17. 1 2 3 "Dr Abigail Allwood". Advance The Global Australian Network. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
  18. 1 2 "JPL Science: Abigail Allwood". science.jpl.nasa.gov. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
  19. ↑ Moore, Tony (4 August 2014). "Brisbane woman leads NASA's search for life on Mars". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
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