Visitors to the village of Drumnadrochit, on the western shore of Scotland’s murky Loch Ness, come to see the nearby ruins of Urquhart Castle or to chance a glimpse of the elusive Loch Ness Monster. Robin Wordsworth, a planet scientist, says it was the unobstructed view of the cosmos that attracted his attention as a child in Drumnadrochit. “There are incredibly clear skies up there,” he says.
Wordsworth is now living on the other shore of the Atlantic. He’s a researcher and professor at Harvard University. His eyes are still fixed on the solar system and beyond. From learning how rocky planets can occasionally be encased by glaciers to investigating the sizes of alien raindrops or the details of how humans might one day settle Mars, Wordsworth’s scientific explorations vary widely. His research group tends to “do a lot of different things at once,” he says. “If I was to summarize it in a sentence, it would be to understand what drives habitability on planets through time.”
Standout research
Wordsworth defines a planet’s habitability as its ability to support life. Wordsworth is a science fiction lover who has been fascinated by the idea that life can survive anywhere in the universe. Astronomers have discovered around 20 potential worlds that could be habitable in the universe, including Earth. Supercomputers are used to build simulations of planets as well as the evolution of their climates using data from ground-based observatories, satellites, and rovers. Climate is a big focus because it determines whether a planet’s surface can harbor liquid water — a necessity for all known forms of life.
Wordsworth’s most notable research reconstructs the climate of early Mars. Martian river valleys and geologic clues indicate that liquid water was once plentiful on the Red Planet. The early Martian climate is a hot topic for researchers looking for signs of alien life. However, for decades, scientists could only build one-dimensional models of key atmospheric components such as clouds.
Wordsworth, along with colleagues, presented a paper in 2013. 3D model of the Martian climate in the early daysWith clouds and an atmosphere rich in carbon dioxide. According to James Kasting from Penn State, these are essential components in studying how early Martian atmosphere may reflect and trap heat.
Kasting claims that Wordsworth was the one who discovered how to include clouds in the model. This was thanks to his programming skills, mathematical understanding, and determination. “He’s been publishing the best climate calculations for early Mars. There’s really nobody else who is in his lane.”
What’s next
Wordsworth’s otherworldly reconstructions may help us better understand whether life might have emerged on Mars or elsewhere. One strand of his research could lead to humans one day settling the Red Planet.
Today, most of Mars’ surface is too cold to sustain liquid water, and the planet’s thin atmosphere offers little protection from the sun’s intense ultraviolet radiation. These conditions make Mars inhospitable for potential Martian settlers. Wordsworth and co-workers suggested in a 2019 study that sheets made of insulating silica aerogel could be placed over ice-covered areas to help with survival.
Tests in the lab showed that layers of aerogel were only centimeters thick. 60 percent of UVA/UVB radiation was removedThe shields blocked almost all the dangerous UVC radiations while still allowing enough light through to enable photosynthesis. What’s more, the shields warmed the air underneath by more than 50 degrees Celsius, which could make liquid water and growing crops possible. Wordsworth will be investigating how Mars settlers might make themselves self-sustaining using bioplastics and other renewable materials.
Exoplanets, which are far beyond the Red Planet, await. “The James Webb Space Telescope has just begun to collect new exoplanet data,” Wordsworth says. He said that researchers will benefit from observations of the atmospheres of these distant planets to help them test their theories on how their climates evolved. “It’s just an incredibly exciting time.”
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