Engineering topics

Lindstrom, David J.

Publications and source records attributed to Lindstrom, David J..

9 records

NASA NTRS2002

Technology Development and Advanced Planning for Curation of Returned Mars Samples

NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) curates extraterrestrial samples, providing the international science community with lunar rock and soil returned by the Apollo astronauts, meteorites collected in Antarctica, cosmic dust collected in the stratosphere, and hardware exposed to the space environment. Curation comprises initial characterization of new samples, preparation and allocation of samples for research, and clean, secure long-term storage. The foundations of this effort are the specialized cleanrooms (class 10 to 10,000) for each of the four types of materials, the supporting facilities, and the people, many of whom have been doing detailed work in clean environments for decades. JSC is also preparing to curate the next generation of extraterrestrial samples. These include samples collected from the solar wind, a comet, and an asteroid. Early planning and R\&D are underway to support post-mission sample handling and curation of samples returned from Mars. One of the strong scientific reasons for returning samples from Mars is to search for evidence of current or past life in the samples. Because of the remote possibility that the samples may contain life forms that are hazardous to the terrestrial biosphere, the National Research Council has recommended that all samples returned from Mars be kept under strict biological containment until tests show that they can safely be released to other laboratories. It is possible that Mars samples may contain only scarce or subtle traces of life or prebiotic chemistry that could readily be overwhelmed by terrestrial contamination . Thus, the facilities used to contain, process, and analyze samples from Mars must have a combination of high-level biocontainment and organic / inorganic chemical cleanliness that is unprecedented. JSC has been conducting feasibility studies and developing designs for a sample receiving facility that would offer biocontainment at least the equivalent of current maximum containment BSL-4 (BioSafety Level 4) laboratories, while simultaneously maintaining cleanliness levels equaling those of state-of-the-art cleanrooms. Unique requirements for the processing of Mars samples have inspired a program to develop handling techniques that are much more precise and reliable than the approach (currently used for lunar samples) of employing gloved human hands in nitrogen-filled gloveboxes. Individual samples from Mars are expected to be much smaller than lunar samples, the total mass of samples returned by each mission being 0.5- 1 kg, compared with many tens of kg of lunar samples returned by each of the six Apollo missions. Smaller samples require much more of the processing to be done under microscopic observation. In addition, the requirements for cleanliness and high-level containment would be difficult to satisfy while using traditional gloveboxes. JSC has constructed a laboratory to test concepts and technologies important to future sample curation. The Advanced Curation Laboratory includes a new-generation glovebox equipped with a robotic arm to evaluate the usability of robotic and teleoperated systems to perform curatorial tasks. The laboratory also contains equipment for precision cleaning and the measurement of trace organic contamination.

Lindstrom, David J.↗

NASA NTRS2002

A "Mesosiderite" Rock from Northern Siberia, Russia: Not a Meteorite

A possible mesosiderite meteorite was found in the area of the Putorana Plateau, Noril'sk district, Siberia, Russia. Although this rock resembles a mesosiderite in its hand-sample aspect and in having Ni-bearing iron metal, it is not a meteorite. This inference is based on the lack of a fusion crust, the lack of cosmogenic nuclides, oxygen with terrestrial isotope ratios, and several mineral chemical criteria. Most likely, the rock is from the iron-metal-bearing basalts of the Siberian Trap basalt sequence, which are mined for their base and platinum-group metals. Mesosiderite imposters like this may be recognized by: (1) the presence of Cu metal in hand sample or as microscopic blebs in the low-Ni metal (kamacite), (2) the absence of high-Ni metal (taenite), and (3) the presence of iron carbide (cohenite) enclosing the kamacite. Even if these macroscopic tests are inconclusive, isotopic and mineral chemical tests will also distinguish rocks like this from mesosiderites.

Treiman, Allan H.↗

NASA NTRS1997

Trace Element Geochemistry of Martian Iddingsite in the Lafayette Meteorite

The Lafayette meteorite contains abundant iddingsite, a fine-grained intergrowth of smectite clay, ferrihydrite, and ionic salt minerals. Both the meteorite and iddingsite formed on Mars. Samples of iddingsite, olivine, and augite pyroxene were extracted from Lafayette and analyzed for trace elements by instrumental neutron activation. Our results are comparable to independent analyses by electron and ion microbeam methods. Abundances of most elements in the iddingsite do not covary significantly. The iddingsite is extremely rich in Hg, which is probably terrestrial contamination. For the elements Si, Al, Fe, Mn, Ni, Co, and Zn, the composition of the iddingsite is close to a mixture of approximately 50% Lafayette olivine + approximately 40% Lafayette siliceous glass + approximately 1O% water. Concordant behavior among these elements is not compatible with element fractionations between smectite and water, but the hydrous nature and petrographic setting of the iddingsite clearly suggest an aqueous origin. These inferences are both consistent, however, with deposition of the iddingsite originally as a silicate gel, which then crystallized (neoformed) nearly isochemically. The iddingsite contains significantly more magnesium than implied by the model, which may suggest that the altering solutions were rich in Mg(2+).

Treiman, Allan H.↗

NASA NTRS1994

The parent magma of xenoliths in shergottite EETA79001: Bulk and trace element composition inferred from magmatic inclusions

The SNC meteorites are samples of the Martian crust, so inferences about their origins and parent magmas are of wide planetologic significance. The EETA79001 shergottite, a basalt, contains xenoliths of pyroxene-olivine cumulate rocks which are possibly related to the ALHA77005 and LEW88516 SNC lherzolites. Olivines in the xenoliths contain magmatic inclusions, relics of magma trapped within the growing crystals. The magmatic inclusions allow a parent magma composition to be retrieved; it is similar to the composition reconstructed from xenolith pyroxenes by element distribution coefficients. The xenolith parent magma is similar but not identical to parent magmas for the shergottite lherzolites.

Treiman, Allan H.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Electrolytic smelting of lunar rock for oxygen, iron, and silicon

Preliminary studies of the electrochemical properties of silicate melts such as those available from heating of lunar mare soils indicate that conductivities are high enough for design of a practical electrolytic cell. The nature and kinetics of the electrode reactions, which involve reduction of Fe(++) and Si(IV) and oxidation of silicate anions as the primary, product-forming reactions, are also satisfactory. A survey of the efficiencies for production (amount of product for a given current) of O2, Fe(sup 0), and Si(sup 0) as functions of potential and of electrolyte composition indicate that conditions can be chosen to yield high production efficiencies. We also conclude that electronic conductivity does not occur to a significant extent. Based on these data, a cell with electrodes of 30 sq m in area operating between 1 and 5V with a current between 1.6 and 3.5(10)(exp 5) A for a mean power requirement of 0.54 MW and total energy use of approximately 13 MWhr per 24-hr day would produce 1 ton of O2, 0.81 ton of Fe(sup 0), 0.65 ton of Si(sup 0) (as Fe(sup 0)-Si(sup 0) alloy), and about 3.5 tons of silicate melt of altered composition per 24 hr. Adjustable distance between electrodes could offer flexibility with respect to feedstock and power source.

Haskin, Larry A.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Mineralogy of 12 large 'chondritic' interplanetary dust particles

Mineralogical analyses of 12 large 'chondritic' interplanetary dust particles (IDPs) are reported. It is found that nine of these particles belong to the smectite class of IDPs, and the remainder to the pyroxene class. In comparing these results to previous studies of generally smaller IDPs, a significantly higher percentage of smectite-class IDPs is found, which may therefore be a size-related phenomenon. The probable origin of these large IDPs is discussed, comparing hydrous to anhydrous particles. On the basis of mineralogical and compositional similarities it is suggested that the bulk (at least) of pyroxene- and smectite-class IDPs have experienced similar or identical parent body processes, and are possibly derived from the same parent bodies. It is noted that it is commonly difficult to classify certain IDPs by the current scheme because of the presence of abundant amorphous materials and coexistence of both hydrous and anhydrous silicates. It is suggested that the degree of compositional heterogeneity exhibited by anhydrous silicates could form the basis of an alternate IDP classification scheme.

Zolensky, Michael E.↗

NASA NTRS1989

Prompt Gamma Activation Analysis (PGAA): Technique of choice for nondestructive bulk analysis of returned comet samples

Prompt gamma activation analysis (PGAA) is a well-developed analytical technique. The technique involves irradiation of samples in an external neutron beam from a nuclear reactor, with simultaneous counting of gamma rays produced in the sample by neutron capture. Capture of neutrons leads to excited nuclei which decay immediately with the emission of energetic gamma rays to the ground state. PGAA has several advantages over other techniques for the analysis of cometary materials: (1) It is nondestructive; (2) It can be used to determine abundances of a wide variety of elements, including most major and minor elements (Na, Mg, Al, Si, P, K, Ca, Ti, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni), volatiles (H, C, N, F, Cl, S), and some trace elements (those with high neutron capture cross sections, including B, Cd, Nd, Sm, and Gd); and (3) It is a true bulk analysis technique. Recent developments should improve the technique's sensitivity and accuracy considerably.

Lindstrom, David J.↗

NASA NTRS1989

The measurement of trace elements in interplanetary dust and cometary particles by ultra-high sensitivity INAA

Today the major elemental composition of interplanetary dust particles (IDPs) is routinely determined in many laboratories. These and mineralogical studies have revealed the presence of at least two major types of IDPs, chondritic and refractory. Preliminary results of a successful attempt to determine abundances of a large suite of trace elements from both chondritic and refractory IDPs are reported. The analytical procedure can be used in the grain-by-grain analysis of returned cometary samples. Chondritic and refractory IDPs are characterized by standard scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive x ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX) techniques. With this system, detection limits for many elements are well below picogram levels, and some approach femtogram levels. This technique is non-destructive, although some sample handling is required, so particles can be analyzed by other techniques after instrument neutron activation analysis (INAA) is completed. Data is presently being reduced from the analyses of 7 IDPs. These are U2015E10, U2015F1, W7029-A2, W7029-A3, W7013A8, LACl (all chondritic) and 705 (refractory). So far, 17 different major and trace elements were detected and measured in these particles, including rare earths and some very volatile elements (Br and Zn).

Zolensky, M. E.↗

NASA NTRS1988

On identifying parent plutonic rocks from lunar breccia and soil fragments

Breccia fragments expected from a well-studied boulder of Stillwater anorthosite have been modeled to test the ability to identify parental rock types from examination of breccia and soil fragments. Depending on their size, the boulder fragments give distributions that suggest mixtures of rock types, including monominerallic anorthosite with subordinant amounts of more gabbroic anorthosite, anorthosite, and gabbro for small fragments. The distribution of FeO in samples of lunar ferroan anorthosite (FAN) indicates that FAN has a heterogeneous distribution of mafic minerals like the boulder.

Haskin, Larry A.↗