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Microbeam Analyses of the Most Challenging Extraterrestrial Samples Ever Returned

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 March 2018

Frans J.M. Rietmeijer
Frans J.M. Rietmeijer*
Affiliation:
University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM
*
[email protected]

Extract

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This mission flew by Comet 81P/Wild 2 where it collected more than 10,000 particles, ranging from tens of nanometers to hundreds of microns, and carried them to Earth for a safe landing in the Utah desert on January 15, 2006. So what? The answer depends on one's interest. Technically, it was a perfect DISCOVERY-class mission from launch to soft-landing (Figure 1). Scientifically, it delivered some of the 4.6 Gyrsold particles that went into making the planets of our solar system and for the first time ever we have samples from a known comet.

Many challenges lie ahead. First, the grains must be extracted from the capture cells, and prepared for mineralogical and chemical analyses, including stable isotopes and organic phases. Second, the NASA/JSC Stardust Curatorial Facility has to prepare and keep track of each sample allocation. Third, data collected in many laboratories around the globe will need to be synchronized for publication.

Type
Research Article
Information
Microscopy Today , Volume 15 , Issue 4 , July 2007 , pp. 6 - 11
Copyright
Copyright © Microscopy Society of America 2007

References

References:

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Additional information: NASA Astromaterials Curator/Stardust WEB siteGoogle Scholar