1. Mars

Although Mars is a dry and cold rocky planet currently, it may have been more active in the ancient days, characterized by volcanisms, liquid water cycles (ocean and/or streams), and dense atmosphere. Understanding the drastic environmental shift on Mars (i.e. from wet & active to dry & quiet) is one of the most important and attractive issues among planetary science. Martian meteorites (Shergottite-Nakhlite-Chassignite, and several irregulars) are the sole samples from Mars available to date. They recorded past Martian igneous and/or metamorphic processes, which can provide valuable insights.

My present research has focused on the volatile evolutions on Mars interior and surface, using chronological, geochemical and mineralogical records in Martian meteorites.

2. Asteroid 4-Vesta

Understanding the planetary formation process is one of the largest and long-standing issues. There might have been a number of small rocky bodies (planetesimals ~ protoplanets; 100s ~1,000 km) in the early solar system for the first 10s million years, which may have subsequently composed the current planetary series, although most of such small bodies do not exist today. Meteorites from ancient asteroids are expected as recorders of the protoplanetary processes, including accretion, (re-)melting, differentiation, thermal and/or hydrothermal metamorphism, impact brecciation and destruction, which are not recorded in terrestrial (or any other young planetary) materials.

My present research focuses on the thermal and/or impact histories of Vesta & Vesta-like protoplanets, using chronological, geochemical and mineralogical records in differentiated meteorites.