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author Lauretta, Dante S.
Connolly, Jr., Harold C.
Aebersold, Joseph E.
Alexander, Conel M. O. D.
Ballouz, Ronald-L.
Barnes, Jessica J.
Bates, Helena C.
Bennett, Carina A.
Blanche, Laurinne
Blumenfeld, Erika H.
Clemett, Simon J.
Cody, George D.
DellaGiustina, Daniella N.
Dworkin, Jason P.
Eckley, Scott A.
Foustoukos, Dionysis I.
Franchi, Ian A.
Glavin, Daniel P.
Greenwood, Richard C.
Haenecour, Pierre
Hamilton, Victoria E.
Hill, Dolores H.
Hiroi, Takahiro
Ishimaru, Kana
Jourdan, Fred
Kaplan, Hannah H.
Keller, Lindsay P.
King, Ashley J.
Koefoed, Piers
Kontogiannis, Melissa K.
Le, Loan
Macke, Robert J.
McCoy, Timothy J.
Milliken, Ralph E.
Najorka, Jens
Nguyen, Ann N.
Pajola, Maurizio
Polit, Anjani T.
Roper, Heather L.
Russell, Sara S.
Ryan, Andrew J.
Sandford, Scott A.
Schofield, Paul F.
Schultz, Cody D.
Tachibana, Shogo
Thomas-Keprta, Kathie L.
Thompson, Michelle S.
Tu, Valerie
Tusberti, Filippo
Wang, Kun
Zega, Thomas J.
Wolner, C. W. V.
Team, the OSIRIS-REx Sample Analysis
author_facet Lauretta, Dante S.
Connolly, Jr., Harold C.
Aebersold, Joseph E.
Alexander, Conel M. O. D.
Ballouz, Ronald-L.
Barnes, Jessica J.
Bates, Helena C.
Bennett, Carina A.
Blanche, Laurinne
Blumenfeld, Erika H.
Clemett, Simon J.
Cody, George D.
DellaGiustina, Daniella N.
Dworkin, Jason P.
Eckley, Scott A.
Foustoukos, Dionysis I.
Franchi, Ian A.
Glavin, Daniel P.
Greenwood, Richard C.
Haenecour, Pierre
Hamilton, Victoria E.
Hill, Dolores H.
Hiroi, Takahiro
Ishimaru, Kana
Jourdan, Fred
Kaplan, Hannah H.
Keller, Lindsay P.
King, Ashley J.
Koefoed, Piers
Kontogiannis, Melissa K.
Le, Loan
Macke, Robert J.
McCoy, Timothy J.
Milliken, Ralph E.
Najorka, Jens
Nguyen, Ann N.
Pajola, Maurizio
Polit, Anjani T.
Roper, Heather L.
Russell, Sara S.
Ryan, Andrew J.
Sandford, Scott A.
Schofield, Paul F.
Schultz, Cody D.
Tachibana, Shogo
Thomas-Keprta, Kathie L.
Thompson, Michelle S.
Tu, Valerie
Tusberti, Filippo
Wang, Kun
Zega, Thomas J.
Wolner, C. W. V.
Team, the OSIRIS-REx Sample Analysis
contents On 24 September 2023, the NASA OSIRIS-REx mission dropped a capsule to Earth containing approximately 120 g of pristine carbonaceous regolith from Bennu. We describe the delivery and initial allocation of this asteroid sample and introduce its bulk physical, chemical, and mineralogical properties from early analyses. The regolith is very dark overall, with higher-reflectance inclusions and particles interspersed. Particle sizes range from sub-micron dust to a stone about 3.5 cm long. Millimeter-scale and larger stones typically have hummocky or angular morphologies. A subset of the stones appears mottled by brighter material that occurs as veins and crusts. Hummocky stones have the lowest densities and mottled stones have the highest. Remote sensing of the surface of Bennu detected hydrated phyllosilicates, magnetite, organic compounds, carbonates, and scarce anhydrous silicates, all of which the sample confirms. We also find sulfides, presolar grains, and, less expectedly, Na-rich phosphates, as well as other trace phases. The sample composition and mineralogy indicate substantial aqueous alteration and resemble those of Ryugu and the most chemically primitive, low-petrologic-type carbonaceous chondrites. Nevertheless, we find distinct hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen isotopic compositions, and some of the material we analyzed is enriched in fluid-mobile elements. Our findings underscore the value of sample return, especially for low-density material that may not readily survive atmospheric entry, and lay the groundwork for more comprehensive analyses.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2404_12536
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Asteroid (101955) Bennu in the Laboratory: Properties of the Sample Collected by OSIRIS-REx
Lauretta, Dante S.
Connolly, Jr., Harold C.
Aebersold, Joseph E.
Alexander, Conel M. O. D.
Ballouz, Ronald-L.
Barnes, Jessica J.
Bates, Helena C.
Bennett, Carina A.
Blanche, Laurinne
Blumenfeld, Erika H.
Clemett, Simon J.
Cody, George D.
DellaGiustina, Daniella N.
Dworkin, Jason P.
Eckley, Scott A.
Foustoukos, Dionysis I.
Franchi, Ian A.
Glavin, Daniel P.
Greenwood, Richard C.
Haenecour, Pierre
Hamilton, Victoria E.
Hill, Dolores H.
Hiroi, Takahiro
Ishimaru, Kana
Jourdan, Fred
Kaplan, Hannah H.
Keller, Lindsay P.
King, Ashley J.
Koefoed, Piers
Kontogiannis, Melissa K.
Le, Loan
Macke, Robert J.
McCoy, Timothy J.
Milliken, Ralph E.
Najorka, Jens
Nguyen, Ann N.
Pajola, Maurizio
Polit, Anjani T.
Roper, Heather L.
Russell, Sara S.
Ryan, Andrew J.
Sandford, Scott A.
Schofield, Paul F.
Schultz, Cody D.
Tachibana, Shogo
Thomas-Keprta, Kathie L.
Thompson, Michelle S.
Tu, Valerie
Tusberti, Filippo
Wang, Kun
Zega, Thomas J.
Wolner, C. W. V.
Team, the OSIRIS-REx Sample Analysis
Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics
On 24 September 2023, the NASA OSIRIS-REx mission dropped a capsule to Earth containing approximately 120 g of pristine carbonaceous regolith from Bennu. We describe the delivery and initial allocation of this asteroid sample and introduce its bulk physical, chemical, and mineralogical properties from early analyses. The regolith is very dark overall, with higher-reflectance inclusions and particles interspersed. Particle sizes range from sub-micron dust to a stone about 3.5 cm long. Millimeter-scale and larger stones typically have hummocky or angular morphologies. A subset of the stones appears mottled by brighter material that occurs as veins and crusts. Hummocky stones have the lowest densities and mottled stones have the highest. Remote sensing of the surface of Bennu detected hydrated phyllosilicates, magnetite, organic compounds, carbonates, and scarce anhydrous silicates, all of which the sample confirms. We also find sulfides, presolar grains, and, less expectedly, Na-rich phosphates, as well as other trace phases. The sample composition and mineralogy indicate substantial aqueous alteration and resemble those of Ryugu and the most chemically primitive, low-petrologic-type carbonaceous chondrites. Nevertheless, we find distinct hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen isotopic compositions, and some of the material we analyzed is enriched in fluid-mobile elements. Our findings underscore the value of sample return, especially for low-density material that may not readily survive atmospheric entry, and lay the groundwork for more comprehensive analyses.
title Asteroid (101955) Bennu in the Laboratory: Properties of the Sample Collected by OSIRIS-REx
topic Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2404.12536