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NASA NTRS2015

Preparing for Mars: The Evolvable Mars Campaign 'Proving Ground' Approach

As the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) prepares to extend human presence beyond Low Earth Orbit, we are in the early stages of planning missions within the framework of an Evolvable Mars Campaign. Initial missions would be conducted in near-Earth cis-lunar space and would eventually culminate in extended duration crewed missions on the surface of Mars. To enable such exploration missions, critical technologies and capabilities must be identified, developed, and tested. NASA has followed a principled approach to identify critical capabilities and a "Proving Ground" approach is emerging to address testing needs. The Proving Ground is a period subsequent to current International Space Station activities wherein exploration-enabling capabilities and technologies are developed and the foundation is laid for sustained human presence in space. The Proving Ground domain essentially includes missions beyond Low Earth Orbit that will provide increasing mission capability while reducing technical risks. Proving Ground missions also provide valuable experience with deep space operations and support the transition from "Earth-dependence" to "Earth-independence" required for sustainable space exploration. A Technology Development Assessment Team identified a suite of critical technologies needed to support the cadence of exploration missions. Discussions among mission planners, vehicle developers, subject-matter-experts, and technologists were used to identify a minimum but sufficient set of required technologies and capabilities. Within System Maturation Teams, known challenges were identified and expressed as specific performance gaps in critical capabilities, which were then refined and activities required to close these critical gaps were identified. Analysis was performed to identify test and demonstration opportunities for critical technical capabilities across the Proving Ground spectrum of missions. This suite of critical capabilities is expected to provide the foundation required to enable a variety of possible destinations and missions consistent with the Evolvable Mars Campaign.. The International Space Station will be used to the greatest extent possible for exploration capability and technology development. Beyond this, NASA is evaluating a number of options for Proving Ground missions. An "Asteroid Redirect Mission" will demonstrate needed capabilities (e.g., Solar Electric Propulsion) and transportation systems for the crew (i.e., Space Launch System and Orion) and for cargo (i.e., Asteroid Redirect Vehicle). The Mars 2020 mission and follow-on robotic precursor missions will gather Mars surface environment information and will mature technologies. NASA is considering emplacing a small pressurized module in cis-lunar space to support crewed operations of increasing duration and to serve as a platform for critical exploration capabilities testing (e.g., radiation mitigation; extended duration deep space habitation). In addition, "opportunistic mission operations" could demonstrate capabilities not on the Mars critical path that may, nonetheless, enhance exploration operations (e.g., teleoperations, crew assisted Mars sample return). The Proving Ground may also include "pathfinder" missions to test and demonstrate specific capabilities at Mars (e.g., entry, descent, and landing). This paper describes the (1) process used to conduct an architecture-driven technology development assessment, (2) exploration mission critical and supporting capabilities, and (3) approach for addressing test and demonstration opportunities encompassing the spectrum of flight elements and destinations consistent with the Evolvable Mars Campaign.

Bobskill, Marianne R.↗
NASA NTRS2021

Hydrothermal History of (162173) Ryugu’s Parent Body Inferred from Remote-Sensing Data

Small rubble pile asteroids record the thermal evolution of their much larger parent bodies. However, recent space weathering and/or solar heating create ambiguities between the uppermost layer observable by remote-sensing and the pristine material from the parent body. Hayabusa2 remote-sensing observations find that on the asteroid (162173) Ryugu both north and south pole regions preserve the least space-weathered material, which is spectrally blue carbonaceous chondritic material with a 0 – 3% deep 0.7-μm band absorption, indicative of Fe-bearing phyllosilicates . We report that spectrally blue Ryugu’s parent body experienced intensive aqueous alteration and subsequent thermal metamorphism at 570 – 670 K (300 – 400 ˚C), suggesting that Ryugu’s parent body was heated by radioactive decay of short-lived radionuclides possibly because of its early formation 2-2.5 Ma. The samples being brought to Earth by Hayabusa2 will give us our first insights into this epoch in solar system history. Moreover, we found the NUV-VIS spectral similarity between Ryugu and Polana–Eulalia family members, suggesting plausible origin from inner main belt predicted by the dynamical simulation.

Eri Tatsumi↗
NASA NTRS2020

Chemical and Thermodynamic Constraints on the Thermal Evolution of Eucrites

Vesta is the only differentiated asteroid with a nearly intact crust, making it the candidate for studying early planetary differentiation. It is commonly thought that the howardite, eucrite, and diogenite (HED) clan of meteorites derive from Vesta, and thus the study of HEDs is important for understanding the evolution of primitive bodies in the early solar system [1]. Of particular interest are the unusual trace element abundances in Stannern group eucrites, which have been interpreted as partial melting and melt contamination events that occurred on the parent body during thermal metamorphism[2]. However, some samples that contain evidence of high temperature metamorphism, such as Elephant Moraine (EET) 90020, have anomalous REE patterns that have been interpret-ed multiple ways. For example [3] concluded that the loss of small degrees of partial melt depleted the sample in LREEs while [4] concluded that subsolidus diffusion better explained why depletion of only some highly incompatible elements is observed. The heterogeneous nature of this sample makes reconstructing its petrologic history challenging. Here, we conduct further petrographic and chemical studies on polished thin sections of EET 90020 and compare results to previous studies [3-5]. Additionally, we combine chemical analyses with thermodynamic models in order to refine the constraints on the post-crystallization thermal history of EET 90020. We additionally include studies of Graves Nunataks (GRA) 98098, which also contains evidence of high temperature metamorphism and anomalous geochemical signatures, as well as evidence of solid state diffusion at lower temperatures [6].

Gorce, Jennifer S.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Simulation of possible regolith optical alteration effects on carbonaceous chondrite meteorites

As the spectral reflectance search continues for links between meteorites and their parent body asteroids, the effects of optical surface alteration processes need to be considered. We present the results of an experimental simulation of the melting and recrystallization that occurs to a carbonaceous chondrite meteorite regolith powder upon heating. As done for the ordinary chondrite meteorites, we show the effects of possible parent-body regolith alteration processes on reflectance spectra of carbonaceous chondrites (CC's). For this study, six CC's of different mineralogical classes were obtained from the Antarctic Meteorite Collection: two CM meteorites, two CO meteorites, one CK, and one CV. Each sample was ground with a ceramic mortar and pestle to powders with maximum grain sizes of 180 and 90 microns. The reflectance spectra of these powders were measured at RELAB (Brown University) from 0.3 to 2.5 microns. Following comminution, the 90 micron grain size was melted in a nitrogen controlled-atmosphere fusion furnace at an approximate temperature of 1700 C. The fused sample was immediately held above a flow of nitrogen at 0 C for quenching. Following melting and recrystallization, the samples were reground to powders, and the reflectance spectra were remeasured. The effects on spectral reflectance for a sample of the CM carbonaceous chondrite called Murchison are shown.

Clark, Beth E.↗
NASA NTRS2026

Evidence of an Extended Period of Aqueous Alteration on the Bennu Parent Body Revealed By I-Xe Analyses

NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission delivered to Earth 121.6 g of regolith material from asteroid Bennu on 24th September 2023. We report multi-step laser pyrolysis xenon isotopic analysis to investigate the I-Xe system in individual particles separated from aggregate material (a mixture of small particles of undefined lithology). The high sensitivity of the RELAX mass spectrometer allows us to observe small excesses of individual isotopes and separate out different components, which may not be possible using a conventional noble gas mass spectrometer. The temperature resolution of RELAX is sufficient to seek an I-Xe isochron from step heating analysis of a sample mass <100 μg, which can contribute to our understanding of the nature and timing of aqueous alteration on Bennu’s parent body. We also aim to better estimate and understand the iodine concentration of CI chondrite-like material.

S A Crowther↗
NASA NTRS1984

Rotational spectral variations of asteroid (8) Flora Implications for the nature of the S-type asteroids and for the parent bodies of the ordinary chondrites

The surface material and the surface material heterogeneities of the asteroid Flora are characterized using the best available data sets and the most sophisticated interpretive calibrations. Five spectrally derived mineralogic and patrologic properties of the surface assemblage of Flora which are relevant to whether this body is a differentiated or undifferentiated object are considered: bulk mineralogy, mafic mineral assemblage, metallic phase, pyroxene composition and structural type, and mineralogic variation. All of these properties indicate that Flora is a differentiated body. Flora is probably the residual core of an intensely heated, thermally evolved, and magnetically differentiated planetesimal which was subsequently disrupted. The present surface sample layers formed at or near the core-mantle boundary in the parent body.

Gaffey, M. J.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Geochemical evidences for two chondritic-like cometary or asteroidal impacts before and at the K/T boundary

A number of geological and palaeontological evidences support multiple impacts of cometary showers within a short time (approximately 1-3 Ma) and their connection with mass extinctions. Observations include clustered crater ages, stratigraphic horizons of impact ejecta closely spaced in time, and evidence for stepwise mass extinctions spanning intervals of 1-3 Ma. For the K/T boundary, three candidates, Popigai, Manson, and Yucatan, have been proposed as impact craters. Two distinct strata at the K/T boundary in western North America have been interpreted as evidence for two sequential impacts. If multiple impacts occurred within a time span of about 1 Ma then multiple Ir enrichments should be observed. DSDP Hole 577B on the Shatsky Plateau in the northern Pacific at K/T time is the first site. Samples contain approximately greater than 97 percent CaCO3, which exhibit clear chemical signals associated with asteroidal/cometary impact. Ir, Fe, and Cr data are presented. From the Th-normalized data, two satellite peaks below the major peak at 78 cm and 81 cm of 577B-1-4 are clearly shown. The major Ir peak (K/T boundary) is at 72 cm. Fe and Cr, from C1-like impactor ejecta fallout, also show two peaks at the same positions. For hole 738C on the southern Kerguelen Plateau, Ir values reach a peak concentration of 18 ppb in the clay layer at 96.0-96.2 cm in section 20R-5, and gradually tail off. In the sample 115 cm above the boundary, Ir concentrations have still not reached background levels. From the Ir peak downward to the lowermost sample analyzed at 102 cm, the Ir concentration is still as high as 1.7 ppb. From the Th-normalized data, we observe a small Ir/Th peak at 100-101 cm. Though this peak is within the error margin, the trend is clear. Fe and Cr exhibit the same pattern. The third case is Hole 690C on the Queen Maud Ridge. Again, the Ir/Th plot indicates the strong possibility of satellite peaks at approximately 52 cm. The main peak is at 39-40 cm. For the Stevns Klint K/T boundary layers, the stratification of trace elements appears threefold with peak concentrations in sublayers A1, A3, and B2 for different element groups, including Ir. C1 ratios for many siderophile elements found in combined layers III and IV, corresponding to layers A, B, C, and D, strongly support the impact hypothesis. Also, multiple Ir anomalies in the K/T section at Lattengebirge, Bavarian Alps are reported. Recent works on Ni-rich spinels and Ir at the K/T boundaries clearly establish cometary/asteroidal impacts at the K/T boundary. Lastly, cometary showers can explain the enhanced Ir contents over approximately a 1 Ma interval in Gubbio shales.

Liu, Y.-G.↗
NASA NTRS1992

What makes a family reliable?

Asteroid families are clusters of asteroids in proper element space which are thought to be fragments from former collisions. Studies of families promise to improve understanding of large collision events and a large event can open up the interior of a former parent body to view. While a variety of searches for families have found the same heavily populated families, and some searches have found the same families of lower population, there is much apparent disagreement between proposed families of lower population of different investigations. Indicators of reliability, factors compromising reliability, an illustration of the influence of different data samples, and a discussion of how several investigations perceived families in the same region of proper element space are given.

Williams, James G.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Atlas of reflectance spectra of terrestrial, lunar, and meteoritic powders and frosts from 92 to 1800 nm

The spectra of samples of several powder and frost materials are presented to serve in a reference database for future far-UV scans of solar system bodies. The spectra cover in the 92-1800 nm wavelengths, i.e., wavenumbers 110,000-5600/cm and photon energies from 13.5-1.5 eV. Preparation procedures for the particulates are delineated. The survey includes feldspars, orthopyroxenes, clinopyroxenes, olivines, assorted minerals, achondrites, carbonaceous chondrites and ordinary chondrites, lunar soils and rocks. Frosts of H2O, CO2, NH3 and SO2 gases were also examined. The data are expected to aid in obtaining spectral matches for asteroids and meteoroids when far-UV telescopy of solar system bodies is performed.

Wagner, Jeffrey K.↗
NASA NTRS2014

Petrology and Geochemistry of Unbrecciated Harzburgitic Diogenite MIL 07001: A Window Into Vestan Geological Evolution

There is a strong case that asteroid 4 Vesta is the parent of the howardite, eucrite and diogenite (HED) meteorites. Models developed for the geological evolution of Vesta can satisfy the compositions of basaltic eucrites that dominate in the upper crust. The bulk compositional characteristics of diogenites - cumulate harzburgites and orthopyroxenites from the lower crust - do not fit into global magma ocean models that can describe the compositions of basaltic and cumulate eucrites. Recent more detailed formation models do make provision for a more complicated origin for diogenites, but this model has yet to be completely vetted. Compositional studies of bulk samples has led to the hypothesis that many diogenites were formed late by interaction of their parent melts with a eucritic crust, but those observations may alternatively be explained by subsolidus equilibration of trace elements between orthopyroxene and plagioclase and Ca-phosphate in the rocks. Differences in radiogenic Mg-26 content between diogenites and eucrites favors early formation of the former, not later formation. Understanding the origin of diogenites is crucial for understanding the petrologic evolution of Vesta. We have been doing coordinated studies of a suite of diogenites including petrologic investigations, bulk rock major and trace element studies, and in situ trace element analyses of orthopyroxene. Here we will focus on an especially unusual, and potentially key, diogenite, MIL 07001.

Mittlefehldt, D. W.↗
NASA NTRS2002

Amino acids in the Tagish Lake Meteorite

High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) based amino acid analysis of a Tagish Lake meteorite sample recovered 3 months after the meteorite fell to Earth have revealed that the amino acid composition of Tagish Lake is strikingly different from that of the CM and CI carbonaceous chondrites. We found that the Tagish Lake meteorite contains only trace levels of amino acids (total abundance = 880 ppb), which is much lower than the total abundance of amino acids in the CI Orgueil (4100 ppb) and the CM Murchison (16 900 ppb). Because most of the same amino acids found in the Tagish Lake meteorite are also present in the Tagish Lake ice melt water, we conclude that the amino acids detected in the meteorite are terrestrial contamination. We found that the exposure of a sample of Murchison to cold water lead to a substantial reduction over a period of several weeks in the amount of amino acids that are not strongly bound to the meteorite matrix. However, strongly bound amino acids that are extracted by direct HCl hydrolysis are not affected by the leaching process. Thus even if there had been leaching of amino acids from our Tagish Lake meteorite sample during its 3 month residence in Tagish Lake ice and melt water, a Murchison type abundance of endogenous amino acids in the meteorite would have still been readily detectable. The low amino acid content of Tagish Lake indicates that this meteorite originated fiom a different type of parent body than the CM and CI chondrites. The parent body was apparently devoid of the reagents such as aldehyldes/ketones, HCN and ammonia needed for the effective abiotic synthesis of amino acids. Based on reflectance spectral measurements, Tagish Lake has been associated with P- or D-type asteroids. If the Tagish Lake meteorite was indeed derived fiom these types of parent bodies, our understanding of these primitive asteroids needs to be reevaluated with respect to their potential inventory of biologically important organic compounds.

Kminek, G.↗
NASA NTRS2008

Meteorite Dunite Breccia MIL 03443: A Probable Crustal Cumulate Closely Related to Diogenites from the HED Parent Asteroid

There are numerous types of differentiated meteorites, but most represent either the crusts or cores of their parent asteroids. Ureilites, olivine-pyroxene-graphite rocks, are exceptions; they are mantle restites [1]. Dunite is expected to be a common mantle lithology in differentiated asteroids. In particular, models of the eucrite parent asteroid contain large volumes of dunite mantle [2-4]. Yet dunites are very rare among meteorites, and none are known associated with the howardite, eucrite, diogenite (HED) suite. Spectroscopic measurements of 4 Vesta, the probable HED parent asteroid, show one region with an olivine signature [5] although the surface is dominated by basaltic and orthopyroxenitic material equated with eucrites and diogenites [6]. One might expect that a small number of dunitic or olivine-rich meteorites might be delivered along with the HED suite. The 46 gram meteoritic dunite MIL 03443 (Fig. 1) was recovered from the Miller Range ice field of Antarctica. This meteorite was tentatively classified as a mesosiderite because large, dunitic clasts are found in this type of meteorite, but it was noted that MIL 03443 could represent a dunite sample of the HED suite [7]. Here I will present a preliminary petrologic study of two thin sections of this meteorite.

Mittlefehldt, David W.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Re-Os dating of 3AB iron meteorites

Recently, Creaser et al., and Volkening and Heumann, have demonstrated the efficient production of large (approximately 10 exp -11 A) ion beams by negative thermal ionization mass spectrometry (NTIMS) using standard laboratory solutions of Os compounds. Horan et al., have applied NTIMS to a group of 7 IIA iron meteorites and obtained a Re-Os closure age of 4596 +/- 152 million years. The initial Os-187/Os-186 ratio was 0.8007 plus or minus 0.0029. In addition they analyzed 3 IIIA meteorite samples which indicated an age of 4554 +/- 180 million years and Os initial of 0.8120 +/- 0.0075 which does not overlap with the initial for the IIA irons. We have been independently pursuing a similar program with the direct aim of determining possible variations in the initial (Os-187)/(Os-186) ratio or Re-Os closure age of different classes of iron meteorite. We have applied NTIMS to Os extracted from the most common group of iron meteorites the IIIAB. These meteorites are believed to be of magmatic origin, formed by fractional crystallization of molten cores of asteroidal bodies. The present results point to a significantly lower initial (Os-187)/(Os-186) ratio of 0.7731 plus or minus 0.0050 than previously determined.

Esat, Tezer M.↗
NASA NTRS2009

Enrichment of the Amino Acid L-Isovaline by Aqueous Alteration on CI and CM Meteorite Parent Bodies

The distribution and enantiomeric composition of the 5-carbon (C(sub 5)) amino acids found in Cl-, CM-, and CR-type carbonaceous meteorites were investigated by using liquid chromatography fluorescence detection/TOF-MS coupled with o-phthaldialdehyde/Nacetyl- l-cysteine derivatization. A large L-enantiomeric excess (ee) of the a-methyl amino acid isovaline was found in the CM meteorite Murchison (L(sub ee) = 18.5 +/- 2.6%) and the Cl meteorite Orguell (L(sub ee) = 15.2 +/- 4.0%). The measured value for Murchison is the largest enantiomeric excess in any meteorite reported to date, and the Orgueil measurement of an isovaline excess has not been reported previously for this or any Cl meteorite. The L-isovaline enrichments in these two carbonaceous meteorites cannot be the result of interference from other C(sub 5) amino acid isomers present in the samples, analytical biases, or terrestrial amino acid contamination. We observed no L-isovaline enrichment for the most primitive unaltered Antarctic CR meteorites EET 92042 and QUE 99177. These results are inconsistent with UV circularly polarized light as the primary mechanism for L-isovaline enrichment and indicate that amplification of a small initial isovaline asymmetry in Murchison and Orgueil occurred during an extended aqueous alteration phase on the meteorite parent bodies. The large asymmetry in isovaline and other alpha-dialkyl amino acids found in altered Ct and CM meteorites suggests that amino acids delivered by asteroids, comets, and their fragments would have biased the Earth's prebiotic organic inventory with left-handed molecules before the origin of life.

Glavin, Daniel P.↗
NASA NTRS2014

Compositional Diversity of the Vestan Regolith Derived from Howardite Compositions and Dawn VIR Spectra

Howardite, eucrite and diogenite meteorites likely come from asteroid 4 Vesta [1]. Howardites - physical mixtures of eucrites and diogenites - are of two subtypes: regolithic howardites were gardened in the true regolith; fragmental howardites are simple polymict breccias [2]. The Dawn spacecraft imaged the howarditic surface of Vesta with the visible and infrared mapping spectrometer (VIR) resulting in qualitative maps of the distributions of distinct diogenite-rich and eucrite-rich terranes [3, 4]. We are developing a robust basis for quantitative mapping of the distribution of lithologic types using spectra acquired on splits of well-characterized howardites [5, 6]. Spectra were measured on sample powders sieved to <75 μm in the laboratories of the Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali and Brown University. Data reduction was done using the methods developed to process Dawn VIR spectra [4]. The band parameters for the ~1 and ~2 μm pyroxene absorption features (hereafter BI and BII) can be directly compared to Dawn VIR results. Regolithic howardites have shallower BI and BII absorptions compared to fragmental howardites with similar compositions. However, there are statistically significant correlations between Al or Ca contents and BI or BII center wavelengths regardless of howardite subtype. Diogenites are poor in Al and Ca while eucrites are rich in these elements. The laboratory spectra can thus be directly correlated with the percentage of eucrite material contained in the howardites. We are using these correlations to quantitatively map Al and Ca distributions, and thus the percentage of eucritic material, in the current regolith of Vesta.

Mittlefehldt, D. W.↗
NASA NTRS2011

Oxygen Isotope Systematics of Almahata Sitta

The Almahata Sitta (hereafter "AHS") meteorite was derived from an impact of asteroid 2008TC3 on Earth and is classified as an anomalous polymict ureilite. More than 600 meteorite fragments have been recovered from the strewnfield. Previous reports indicate that these fragments consist mainly of ureilitic materials with textures and compositions, while some fragments are found to be chondrites of a wide range of chemical classes. Bulk oxygen three isotope analyses of ureilitic fragments from AHS fall close to the CCAM (Carbonaceous Chondrite Anhydrous Mineral) line similar to ureilites. In order to further compare AHS with known ureilites, we performed high precision SIMS (Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometer) oxygen isotope analyses of some AHS samples

Kita, N. T.↗
NASA NTRS2021

Spectrally Blue Parent Body of Asteroid (162173) Ryugu and its Hydrothermal History

Small rubble pile asteroids record the thermal evolution of their much larger parent bodies. However, recent ‘space weathering’ and/or ‘solar heating’ create ambiguities between the uppermost layer observable by remote-sensing and the pristine material from the parent body. Hayabusa2 remote-sensing observations found that on the asteroid (162173) Ryugu both north and south pole regions preserve the material least processed by space weathering: spectrally blue carbonaceous chondritic material with a 0.7-μm band absorption, indicative of Fe-bearing phyllosilicates. This discovery suggests that Ryugu’s parent body experienced intensive aqueous alteration and subsequent thermal metamorphism at 670 – 970 K. Ryugu’s parent body was heated by radioactive decay of short-lived radionuclides possibly because of its early formation 2-2.5 Ma. Ryugu’s parent body which is spectrally blue represents some of the most ancient of carbonaceous chondritic compositions from the solar system. The samples being brought to Earth by Hayabusa2 will give us our first insights into this epoch in solar system history.

Eri Tatsumi↗
NASA NTRS1972

Moon - Possible nature of the body that produced the Imbrian Basin, from the composition of Apollo 14 samples.

Soils from the Apollo 14 site contain nearly three times as much meteoritic material as soils from the Apollo 11, Apollo 12, and Luna 16 sites. Part of this material consists of the ubiquitous micrometeorite component, of primitive (carbonaceous-chondrite-like) composition. The remainder, seen most conspicuously in coarse glass and norite fragments, has a decidedly fractionated composition, with volatile elements less than one-tenth as abundant as siderophiles. This material seems to be debris of the Cyprus-sized planetesimal that produced the Imbrian Basin. Compositionally this planetesimal has no exact counterpart among known meteorite classes, though group IVA irons come close. It also resembles the initial composition of the earth as postulated by the two-component model. Apparently the Imbrian planetesimal was an earth satellite swept up by the moon during tidal recession or capture, or an asteroid deflected by Mars into terrestrial space.

Ganapathy, R.↗