Carnegie scientists fine-tuning methods for Stardust analysis (Forwarded)
- From: Andrew Yee <ayee@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 28 Mar 2006 10:59:39 -0500 (EST)
Carnegie Institution of Washington
Washington, D.C.
Carnegie contacts:
Conel MO'D. Alexander, 202-478-8478
Henner Busemann, 202-478-8463
George D. Cody, 202-478-8980
Larry R. Nittler, 202-478-8460
Hikaru Yabuta, 202-478-8969
March 22, 2006
Carnegie scientists fine-tuning methods for Stardust analysis
Washington, D.C. -- On Sunday, January 15, NASA's Stardust mission landed
safely with the first solid comet fragments ever brought back to Earth.
Members of the mission's Preliminary Examination Team, including several
from the Carnegie Institution's Geophysical Laboratory and Department of
Terrestrial Magnetism, are among the first to analyze these precious
samples. The researchers are refining methods to zero in on organic
molecules -- the ingredients of life -- contained in the grains captured
from the coma of comet Wild-2.
The team is already generating preliminary data. For the latest news on
Stardust, as well as other studies on interstellar dust particles and
meteorites, see a series of talks and posters at the NASA Astrobiology
Science Conference (AbSciCon) 2006 at the Ronald Reagan Building in
Washington, D.C. March 26-30. See http://abscicon2006.arc.nasa.gov/ for
details.
Scientists believe comets like Wild-2 are the oldest solid bodies in the
solar system. Yet until now, no one has seen a piece of a comet up close.
Researchers expect to retrieve less than one thousandth of an ounce of
material from Stardust's collection grid, but this tiny puff of dust might
yield scientific gold: by comparing the structure and chemistry of
Stardust grains to interstellar dust and rare meteorites rich in organic
material, researchers hope to fill in some significant holes in what we
know about the evolution and history of our solar system.
"It is likely that some of the carbon in our bodies was originally bound
up in comets and delivered to the early Earth through impacts," explained
Marc Fries of Carnegie's Geophysical Laboratory, a member of the
Preliminary Examination Team. "So when we say that 'we are stardust' we
are literally talking about the type of material that Stardust has
returned to our laboratories for analysis."
Carnegie's researchers are studying their first Stardust sample with a
brand new, $2.8 million NanoSIMS ion probe. This instrument can reveal the
chemical makeup of a sample by vaporizing tiny target areas with a stream
of ions, allowing an accurate count of the atoms emitted; the NanoSIMS is
an ideal tool for analyzing minuscule Stardust grains because it has
greater sensitivity than previous ion probes.
The team also plans to study the physical and chemical details of Stardust
grains using two different spectroscopic techniques. First, by analyzing
laser light reflected from a sample, Raman spectroscopy can reveal both
the structure of minerals and the forms of carbon present. Second, a
unique soft X-ray microscope at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's
Advanced Light Source facility in California enables a technique called
XANES spectroscopy, which can help characterize the carbon, nitrogen, and
oxygen species in organic matter. Since the carbon-containing materials
from Wild-2 are likely to be little changed since the birth of the solar
system, these analyses are especially important.
Carnegie researchers from the Geophysical Laboratory and the Department of
Terrestrial Magnetism will discuss the analysis of interstellar matter,
including early isotopic and spectroscopic results from Stardust, in
several talks and posters at AbSciCon 2006.
Talk and poster schedule subject to change. See
http://abscicon2006.arc.nasa.gov/agenda.phpfor the latest information.
[1] Henner Busemann et al., "Comparative Isotope and Micro-Raman Analyses
of Meteoritic Organic Matter and Interplanetary Dust Particles"
Wednesday, March 29, 2006, 10:45am
Reagan Center, Horizon A&B conference room, Session 22: Extraterrestrial
Prebiotic Chemistry II
[2] Hikaru Yabuta et al., "Extracting Building Blocks of Insoluble Organic
Matter in Meteorites by CuO-NaOH Degradation Technique: Search of
Biomolecule Precursors"
Wednesday, March 29, 2006, 11:05am
Reagan Center, Horizon A&B conference room, Session 22: Extraterrestrial
Prebiotic Chemistry II
[3] George Cody et al., "Extraterrestrial Organics and the Chemical
History They Reveal"
Poster displayed throughout the conference. Poster session Monday night,
March 27, 2006, 6-8pm
Reagan Center, Atrium Hall
[4] Larry Nittler et al., "Microscale Isotopic Heterogeneity in
Extraterrestrial Carbon"
Poster displayed throughout the conference. Poster session Monday night,
March 27, 2006, 6-8pm
Reagan Center, Atrium Hall
[5] Conel Alexander et al., "Spectroscopic Studies of Meteoritic Organic
Matter"
Poster displayed throughout the conference. Poster session Monday night,
March 27, 2006, 6-8pm
Reagan Center, Atrium Hall
NASA provided funds in support of this work through the Stardust
Participating Scientist Program. NASA's Sample Return Laboratory
Instrument and Data Analysis Program (SRLIDAP) funded both the Raman
instrument and a portion of the cost of the NanoSIMS ion probe. NASA also
provided partial support for work at the Advanced Light Source, a facility
funded by the US Department of Energy.
The Carnegie Institution of Washington has been a pioneering force in
basic scientific research since 1902. It is a private, nonprofit
organization with six research departments throughout the U.S. Carnegie
scientists are leaders in plant biology, developmental biology, astronomy,
materials science, global ecology, and Earth and planetary science. See
http://www.carnegieinstitution.org
This work is supported by the NASA Astrobiology Institute (NAI). The NAI,
founded in 1998, is a partnership between NASA, 16 major U.S. teams and
six international consortia. NAI's goal is to promote, conduct, and lead
integrated multidisciplinary astrobiology research and to train a new
generation of astrobiology researchers. For more information about the NAI
on the Internet, visit:
http://nai.nasa.gov/
.
- Prev by Date: Relic of life in that Martian meteorite? A fresh look (Forwarded)
- Next by Date: National Ice Center confirms new antarctic iceberg (Forwarded)
- Previous by thread: Relic of life in that Martian meteorite? A fresh look (Forwarded)
- Next by thread: National Ice Center confirms new antarctic iceberg (Forwarded)
- Index(es):
Relevant Pages
|
