Engagement and Impact 2018
Curtin University
CUT02 (ST) - Impact
Overview
Title
(Title of the impact study)
Desert Fireball Network: Unearthing the secrets of the solar system
Unit of Assessment
02 - Physical Sciences
Additional FoR codes
(Identify up to two additional two-digit FoRs that relate to the overall content of the impact study.)
Socio-Economic Objective (SEO) Codes
(Choose from the list of two-digit SEO codes that are relevant to the impact study.)
95 - Cultural Understanding 89 - Information and Communication Services
Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC) Codes
(Choose from the list of two-digit ANZSIC codes that are relevant to the impact study.)
82 - Adult, Community and Other Education 90 - Creative and Performing Arts Activities 57 - Internet Publishing and Broadcasting
Keywords
(List up to 10 keywords related to the impact described in Part A.)
Curtin University Engagement and Impact 2018 PDF Created: 6/03/2019 Page 1 of 7 geology
smartphone app
fireball
origins of the universe
Sensitivities
Commercially sensitive
Culturally sensitive
Sensitivities description
(Please describe any sensitivities in relation to the impact study that need to be considered, including any particular instructions for ARC staff or assessors, or for the impact study to be made publicly available after EI 2018.)
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander research flag
(Is this impact study associated with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander content? NOTE - institutions may identify impact studies where the impact, associated research and/or approach to impact relates to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, nations, communities, language, place, culture and knowledges and/or is undertaken with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, nations, and/or communities.)
No
Science and Research Priorities
(Does this impact study fall within one or more of the Science and Research Priorities?)
No
Curtin University Engagement and Impact 2018 PDF Created: 6/03/2019 Page 2 of 7 Impact
Summary of the impact
(Briefly describe the specific impact in simple, clear English. This will enable the general community to understand the impact of the research.)
In 2012, planetary geologist Professor Phil Bland embarked on a project to develop our knowledge of the origins of the universe: a Desert Fireball Network (DFN) of 50 autonomous, intelligent observatories trained on the night skies of the Australian outback, tracking the trajectory of meteorites through the atmosphere. This led to the award-winning citizen science initiative Fireballs in the Sky which involved the creation of a smartphone app with industry partner, ThoughtWorks. The app allowed anyone to trace a fireball sighting with their smartphone, extending the DFN to 28,000 amateur astronomers worldwide. The research also led to a partnership with NASA’s Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute (SSERVI), assisting NASA to probe human exploration of moons and asteroids.
Beneficiaries
(List up to 10 beneficiaries related to the impact study)
Australian citizen scientists
NASA SSERVI
global science ocmmunity
ThoughtWorks Australia
Countries in which the impact occurred
(Search the list of countries and add as many as relate to the location of the impact)
Australia United States of America
Details of the impact
(Provide a narrative that clearly outlines the research impact. The narrative should explain the relationship between the associated research and the impact. It should also identify the contribution the research has made beyond academia, including: - who or what has benefitted from the results of the research (this should identify relevant research end-users, or beneficiaries from industry, the community, government, wider public etc.) - the nature or type of impact and how the research made a social, economic, cultural, and/or environmental impact - the extent of the impact (with specific references to appropriate evidence, such as cost-benefit-analysis, quantity of those affected, reported benefits etc.) - the dates and time period in which the impact occurred.
NOTE - the narrative must describe only impact that has occurred within the reference period, and must not make aspirational claims.)
It started out purely as a blue-sky project – one scientist with one incredible idea – but within the space of a few short years, the Desert Fireball Network research project (DFN) exploded both in size and pace, becoming a
Curtin University Engagement and Impact 2018 PDF Created: 6/03/2019 Page 3 of 7 successful and vibrant research facility, supporting a team of dedicated staff making an indelible footprint in planetary science. Tracking and recovering meteorites falling to Earth, and decoding their composition was the initial focus of the Curtin University-based DFN, as the team strived to address some of the biggest questions in planetary science: how our planetary system came into being, and how dust and gas created the Earth.
As a scientist, Bland believes it a priority to bring the excitement of blue-sky research to the public, and to encourage students to pursue STEM subjects, so in 2013 he launched a citizen science outreach program, Fireballs in the Sky, which developed meaningful dialogue between the DFN and the public. With industry partners ThoughtWorks, the team developed a smartphone app, empowering anyone anywhere in the world to recreate their fireball sighting, both enthralling the user and enriching the DFN orbital database at the same time.
Meteorites are the oldest rocks in existence. These untouched fragments are the only surviving physical record of the formation and evolution of the Solar System, and reveal important clues through their chemical and structural features, and where they originated. But of the 50,000 meteorites held in museums, scientists know the original orbit of just 20.
After gaining initial funding from an ARC Laureate Fellowship, in 2012 Professor Bland and his research team at Curtin began working on a cost effective prototype for an observatory rugged enough to survive harsh desert conditions, able to run on low power and operate autonomously for more than a year unattended.
Placed in remote areas away from light pollution and human-made structures, more than 50 observatories each comprise a 36-megapixel DLSR camera, a GPS module connecting to satellites for accurate timing, waterproof housing, a hard drive and intelligent software.
The DFN can record the path of any meteorite in its field of view, yielding valuable clues to its origin, by helping scientists pinpoint the meteorite’s final resting place, should it survive the journey.
“What is quite remarkable about this particular project is having someone out in the Strzelecki Desert feeling part of this very blue-sky, global endeavour of science, that takes them outside of their everyday,” says Professor Bland.
At the heart of the impact of Fireballs in the Sky was the smartphone app, developed in partnership with industry partner, ThoughtWorks. The app enabled anyone to trace the path of a fireball sighting. This spatial data can be uploaded to the orbital database to enhance the data generated by the DFN.
The community benefits of Fireballs in the Sky have been apparent – the program has built individuals’ knowledge and skills in planetary science and supported STEM learning in the classroom. Teacher workshops and resources have provided educators with an inspiring Earth and Space Science unit with clear links to the Australian curriculum. Within three years, the Fireballs in the Sky app had more than 28,000 downloads in 90 countries and 2,560 reported sightings.
On New Year’s Eve 2015, the DFN yielded its first big reward: a 1.7kg meteorite that had been spotted by five of the network’s observatories. Buried half-a-metre deep in mud in Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre, South Australia, the chrondite was recovered with assistance from the local indigenous Arabana community. In recognition of their efforts, the Arabana people were asked to name the meteorite in their language, choosing ‘Murrilli’ after a geographical feature of particular significance to them.
In 2015, Professor Bland brought the DFN and NASA together in a formal partnership. DFN research data began feeding into NASA’s Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute (SSERVI) to assist NASA’s goal of enabling human exploration of moons and asteroids.
This partnership has driven increased collaboration and been a vehicle for the growth of Australian planetary science, with SSERVI supporting the DFN with exposure at multiple conferences and forums in the US, United Arab Emirates, and across Europe.
The team also collaborated with researchers involved the Murchison Widefield Array in Western Australia – a powerful radio telescope – enabling the ‘radio sky’ to be cross-referenced with the ‘optical sky’, adding another dimension to the data. This data has been retained, creating a unique archive for scientists to re-explore the sky for other phenomena and generate knowledge for the benefit of society.
The team has made news headlines on numerous occasions and won many prestigious awards. Fireballs in the Sky won the National iAward for Education and BHERT Best Community Engagement Award in 2015, and the
Curtin University Engagement and Impact 2018 PDF Created: 6/03/2019 Page 4 of 7 following year, the team won the highly revered Australian Government Eureka Prize for Innovation in Citizen Science, and the Chevron Science Engagement Initiative of the Year at the Premier’s Science Awards (Western Australia).
In 2016, the team enjoyed further success with the recovery of the Dingle Dell meteorite in Western Australia. Dingle Dell is a pristine sample, and only the third LL-type meteorite ever recovered with a known orbit.
Fireballs and the DFN had a domestic media audience of approximately 12 million by 2016.
Associated research
(Briefly describe the research that led to the impact presented for the UoA. The research must meet the definition of research in Section 1.9 of the EI 2018 Submission Guidelines. The description should include details of: - what was researched - when the research occurred - who conducted the research and what is the association with the institution)
In 2013, an ARC LIEF awarded to Curtin University for An Aztec electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) facility for state of the art quantitative microstructural analysis, applied EBSD to understanding the genesis of microstructure in meteorites and how it could be used to understand the processes during solar system formation.
This was followed in 2014 by another ARC LIEF grant awarded to Curtin which, through the development of a digital mineralogy and materials characterisation hub, enabled access to more efficient searches in the areas of rare accessory minerals and mineral inclusions and meteoritics and lunar soils.
A research project in 2014 between Curtin University and University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee (UoW) involved testing software for solving impact astrometry and photometry. Professors Steven Tingay and Phil Bland worked collaboratively with UoW to produce publications reporting the joint analysis of DFN images from cameras installed near the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA), with MWA images.
Further ARC LIEF funded collaborations involving Curtin University in 2015 honed the team’s ability to identify isotopes and trace elements simultaneously, providing information on precious, low volume, irreplaceable samples, such as meteorites. Prof Bland also led the 2015 ARC LIEF collaboration to apply paleomagnetism to planetary research.
FoR of associated research
(Up to three two-digit FoRs that best describe the associated research)
02 - Physical Sciences 04 - Earth Sciences 09 - Engineering
References (up to 10 references, 350 characters per reference)
(This section should include a list of up to 10 of the most relevant research outputs associated with the impact)
Sansom, E. K., P. Bland, J. Paxman, and M. Towner. 2015. "A novel approach to fireball modeling: The observable and the calculated."Meteoritics and Planetary Science 50 (8): 1423-1435.
Bellucci, J. J., A. A. Nemchin, M. J. Whitehouse, J. F. Snape, P. Bland, and G. Benedix. 2015. "The Pb isotopic evolution of the Martian mantle constrained by initial Pb in Martian meteorites."Journal of Geophysical Research E: Planets 120 (12): 2224-2240.
Curtin University Engagement and Impact 2018 PDF Created: 6/03/2019 Page 5 of 7 Spivak-Birndorf, L. J., A. Bouvier, G. K. Benedix, S. Hammond, G. A. Brennecka, K. Howard, N. Rogers, M. Wadhwa, P. A. Bland, P. Spurný, and M. C. Towner. 2015. "Geochemistry and chronology of the bunburra rockhole ungrouped achondrite." Meteoritics and Planetary Science 50 (5): 958-975.
Sansom, E. K., P. A. Bland, J. Paxman, and M. C. Towner. 2014. "Characterising fireballs for mass determination: Steps toward automating the Australian desert fireball network." In 2014 XXXIVW URSI General Assembly and Scientific Symposium (URSI GASS 2014), Aug 16, 2014, Beijing, China: IEEE.
Howie, R. M., J. Paxman, P. A. Bland, M. C. Towner, M. Cupak, and E. K. Sansom. 2014. "Advanced digital fireball observatories: Enabling the expansion of the desert fireball network." In 2014 XXXIVW URSI General Assembly and Scientific Symposium (URSI GASS 2014), Aug 16, 2014, Beijing, China: IEEE.
Bland, P. A., P. Spurny, A. W. R. Bevan, K. T. Howard, M. C. Towner, G. K. Benedix, R. C. Greenwood, L. Shrbeny, I. A. Franchi, G. Deacon, J. Borovicka, Z. Ceplecha, D. Vaughan, and R. M. Hough. 2012. "The Australian Desert Fireball Network: A new era for planetary science." Australian Journal of Earth Sciences 59 (2): 177-187.
Curtin University Engagement and Impact 2018 PDF Created: 6/03/2019 Page 6 of 7 Additional impact indicator information
Additional impact indicator information
(Provide information about any indicators not captured above that are relevant to the impact study, for example return on investment, jobs created, improvements in quality of life years (QALYs). Additional indicators should be quantitative in nature and include: - name of indicator (100 characters) - data for indicator (200 characters) - brief description of indicator and how it is calculated (300 characters).)
Curtin University Engagement and Impact 2018 PDF Created: 6/03/2019 Page 7 of 7