Micrometeorites are everywhere and you probably only knew that after reading this sentence.
Asteroids and meteorites are remnants of the early formation of our solar system.
What you probably didn't know is that 37 - 78,000 tonnes of meteorites fall to Earth every year, mostly as dust-like particles.
These so called 'micrometeorites' cover every square meter on Earth at least once every year - meaning there are micrometeorites on your clothes, on the streets, on the roof of your house - THEY ARE EVERYWHERE.
But what I didn't know until this episode of 'The EarthSci Show', is what they mean and why they are actually important to us. How do they affect you and your life directly? Well, you'll find that out in just a moment by hitting the 'play' button.
Here to talk to me about these meteorites and so much more about Space exploration and discovery is:
Dr. Matthew Genge, a Senior Lecturer at Imperial College London, Geologist and Planetary Scientist. His area of expertise is Space/cosmic dust - he has actually worked with NASA on cosmic dust and was involved in space missions such as NASA Stardust, which managed to collect dust from the comet Wild-2.
If you want to watch his recent TEDx talk on mining in space, click here.
Asteroids and meteorites have different shapes, sizes, properties too. This means some carry organic building blocks needed to inhabit a planet, some are as old as the solar system and simply analysing their geology gives us an insight into how they were formed and the nature of the universe at that time. I truly believe that studying meteorites, planet formation and asteroids really redefines the term Geology. It was the study of the dynamics of Earth before, but now it is the study of rocks in general, as we find more and more specimens that are extra-planetary.
In this episode of TES, you'll hear more about what micrometeorites are and why they affect YOU, what we can expect to happen if we find life on Mars, as well as looking at different methods for humans to live away from Earth, untethered from any particular planet.
Stay tuned to hear this and more!
Enjoy and don't forget to subscribe and give me a good review on any streaming platform, it really helps!
Bibliography
Dr. Matt Genge - https://www.imperial.ac.uk/people/m.genge
Mining in Outer Space - https://youtu.be/VnUFqoPz-Ew
Geology in Space - Meteorites and Cosmic Dust - https://youtu.be/OMTl5fY4QW4
How Cosmic Dust reveals secrets of the universe - https://youtu.be/9M8RVbuwa0o
How we could actually build a space colony - https://www.popularmechanics.com/space/deep-space/a11351/how-we-could-actually-build-a-space-colony-17268252/
O’Neill colonies: A decades-long dream for settling space - https://astronomy.com/news/2019/05/oneill-colonies-a-decades-long-dream-for-settling-space
This Asteroid is Metal, with Lindy Elkis-Tanton (Gravity Assist NASA Podcast)- https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/gravity-assist/id1306866433?i=1000527640944
The History of the Future, with Steven Dick (Gravity Assist NASA Podcast) - https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/gravity-assist/id1306866433?i=1000496637117