Penelope J. Wozniakiewicz

Impact Features on Stardust: Implications for Comet 81P/Wild 2 Dust

Particles emanating from comet 81P/Wild 2 collided with the Stardust spacecraft at 6.1 kilometers per second, producing hypervelocity impact features on the collector surfaces that were returned to Earth. The morphologies of these surprisingly diverse features were created by particles varying from dense mineral grains to loosely bound, polymineralic aggregates ranging from tens of nanometers to hundreds of micrometers in size. The cumulative size distribution of Wild 2 dust is shallower than that of comet Halley, yet steeper than that of comet Grigg-Skjellerup.

Elemental compositions of comet 81P/Wild 2 samples collected by Stardust

We measured the elemental compositions of material from 23 particles in aerogel and from residue in seven craters in aluminum foil that was collected during passage of the Stardust spacecraft through the coma of comet 81P/Wild 2. These particles are chemically heterogeneous at the largest size scale analyzed (∼180 ng). The mean elemental composition of this Wild 2 material is consistent with the CI meteorite composition, which is thought to represent the bulk composition of the solar system, for the elements Mg, Si, Mn, Fe, and Ni to 35%, and for Ca and Ti to 60%. The elements Cu, Zn, and Ga appear enriched in this Wild 2 material, which suggests that the CI meteorites may not represent the solar system composition for these moderately volatile minor elements.

GRAIN SORTING IN COMETARY DUST FROM THE OUTER SOLAR NEBULA

Most young stars are surrounded by a disk of gas and dust. Close to the hot stars, amorphous dust grains from the parent molecular cloud are reprocessed into crystals that are then distributed throughout the accretion disk. In some disks, there is a reduction in crystalline grain size with heliocentric distance from the star. We investigated crystalline grain size distributions in chondritic porous (CP) interplanetary dust particles (IDPs) believed to be from small, icy bodies that accreted in outer regions of the solar nebula. The grains are Mg-rich silicates and Fe-rich sulfides, the two most abundant minerals in CP IDPs. We find that they are predominantly <0.25 {mu}m in radius with a mean grain size that varies from one CP IDP to another. We report a size-density relationship between the silicates and sulfides. A similar size-density relationship between much larger silicate and sulfide grains in meteorites from the asteroid belt is ascribed to aerodynamic sorting. Since the silicate and sulfide grains in CP IDPs are theoretically too small for aerodynamic sorting, their size-density relationship may be due to another process capable of sorting small grains.

PRE-ACCRETIONAL SORTING OF GRAINS IN THE OUTER SOLAR NEBULA

Despite their micrometer-scale dimensions and nanogram masses, chondritic porous interplanetary dust particles (CP IDPs) are an important class of extraterrestrial material since their properties are consistent with a cometary origin and they show no evidence of significant post-accretional parent body alteration. Consequently, they can provide information about grain accretion in the comet-forming region of the outer solar nebula. We have previously reported our comparative study of the sizes and size distributions of crystalline silicate and sulfide grains in CP IDPs, in which we found these components exhibit a size-density relationship consistent with having been sorted together prior to accretion. Here we extend our data set and include GEMS (glass with embedded metal and sulfide), the most abundant amorphous silicate phase observed in CP IDPs. We find that while the silicate and sulfide sorting trend previously observed is maintained, the GEMS size data do not exhibit any clear relationship to these crystalline components. Therefore, GEMS do not appear to have been sorted with the silicate and sulfide crystals. The disparate sorting trends observed in GEMS and the crystalline grains in CP IDPs present an interesting challenge for modeling early transport and accretion processes. They may indicate that several sorting mechanisms operated on these CP IDP components, or alternatively, they may simply be a reflection of different source environments.

Limits on methane release and generation via hypervelocity impact of Martian analogue materials

The researchers at Kent acknowledge the STFC, UK for funding this work. Nisha Ramkissoon thanks the UK Space Agency for her support via an Aurora studentship. KM’s work is funded by the UnivEarthS LabEx project of the University of Sorbonne Paris Cite.

CAPTURE OF COMETARY DUST GRAINS IN IMPACTS AT 6.1 km s−1

The NASA Stardust mission to comet 81P/Wild 2 collected grains of cometary dust freshly ejected from the comet during a fly‐by at a speed of 6.1 km s−1. These were captured on aluminum foils and in blocks of silica aerogel. The dust underwent a severe shock during capture. The nature of the shock process depends on the properties of the dust and the collecting media. On the aluminium, the shock process and impact damage is typical of that between high‐density (or hard materials) at high velocity, resulting in craters lined with impactor residues. The peak shock pressures are estimated at 60–80 GPa. Two main crater types are seen, simple bowl shaped and multiple pit craters: these reflect the degree of consolidation of the original dust grain. Capture in the low density aerogel was via a more gradual slowing of the dust grains accompanied by a variety of effects on the grains (complete break up of weak grains vs. ablation of well consolidated grains). The relation between the structure of the dust grains and the resulting impact features in both collector materials is discussed.The NASA Stardust mission to comet 81P/Wild 2 collected grains of cometary dust freshly ejected from the comet during a fly‐by at a speed of 6.1 km s−1. These were captured on aluminum foils and in blocks of silica aerogel. The dust underwent a severe shock during capture. The nature of the shock process depends on the properties of the dust and the collecting media. On the aluminium, the shock process and impact damage is typical of that between high‐density (or hard materials) at high velocity, resulting in craters lined with impactor residues. The peak shock pressures are estimated at 60–80 GPa. Two main crater types are seen, simple bowl shaped and multiple pit craters: these reflect the degree of consolidation of the original dust grain. Capture in the low density aerogel was via a more gradual slowing of the dust grains accompanied by a variety of effects on the grains (complete break up of weak grains vs. ablation of well consolidated grains). The relation between the structure of the dust grains a...