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NASA NTRS2014

Non-Detection of Methane in the Mars Atmosphere by the Curiosity Rover

By analogy with Earth, methane in the atmosphere of Mars is a potential signature of ongoing or past biological activity on the planet. During the last decade, Earth-based telescopic and Mars orbit remote sensing instruments have reported significant abundances of methane in the Martian atmosphere ranging from several to tens of parts-per-billion by volume (ppbv). Observations from Earth showed plumes of methane with variations on timescales much faster than expected and inconsistent with localized patches seen from orbit, prompting speculation of sources from sub-surface methanogen bacteria, geological water-rock reactions or infall from comets, micro-meteorites or interplanetary dust. From measurements on NASAs Curiosity Rover that landed near Gale Crater on 5th August 2012, we here report no definitive detection of methane in the near-surface Martian atmosphere. Our in situ measurements were made using the Tunable Laser Spectrometer (TLS) in the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument suite6 that made three separate searches on Martian sols 79, 81 and 106 after landing. The measured mean value of 0.39 plus or minus 1.4 ppbv corresponds to an upper limit for methane abundance of 2.7 ppbv at the 95 confidence level. This result is in disagreement with both the remote sensing spacecraft observations taken at lower sensitivity and the telescopic observations that relied on subtraction of a very large contribution from terrestrial methane in the intervening observation path. Since the expected lifetime of methane in the Martian atmosphere is hundreds of years, our results question earlier observations and set a low upper limit on the present day abundance, reducing the probability of significant current methanogenic microbial activity on Mars.

Curiosity Rover↗
NASA NTRS2016

The Role of Extraterrestrial Materials in the Origin of Life

It has been well established for some time now that C-rich organic materials are relatively common in a number of environments in space. This is known through the telescopic detection of these materials using spectroscopy techniques in the infrared and sub-millimeter wavelength ranges and through the identification of organics in extraterrestrial materials. Extraterrestrial materials in which organics have been found include collected meteorites and interplanetary dust particles, and samples returned by NASA spacecraft from comets. These organics are produced by a variety of astrochemical processes. Despite their abiotic origins, these organic materials of are considerable interest to astrobiology for several reasons. First, organic materials of any composition are important as a means of delivering the elements C, H, O, and N to the surfaces of newly formed planets, and these elements are likely critical to the origin and subsequent evolution of life (certainly for life as we know it). In addition, it is clear that at least a portion of the organics found in space are in the form of molecules that play important roles in modern biology - for example, molecules like amino acids, amphiphiles, quinones, etc. Thus, the delivery of extraterrestrial organics to planetary surfaces brings not only bulk C, H, O, and N, but also molecular complexity in forms that are potentially useful for the origin and early evolution of life. This suggests that the production and delivery of cosmic organic compounds may have played key roles in the origin of life on Earth and, by extension, on other planets in the universe.

Astrochemistry↗
NASA NTRS2017

Priority Science Targets for Future Sample Return Missions within the Solar System Out to the Year 2050

The Astromaterials Acquisition and Curation Office (henceforth referred to herein as NASA Curation Office) at NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) is responsible for curating all of NASA's extraterrestrial samples. JSC presently curates 9 different astromaterials collections: (1) Apollo samples, (2) LUNA samples, (3) Antarctic meteorites, (4) Cosmic dust particles, (5) Microparticle Impact Collection [formerly called Space Exposed Hardware], (6) Genesis solar wind, (7) Star-dust comet Wild-2 particles, (8) Stardust interstellar particles, and (9) Hayabusa asteroid Itokawa particles. In addition, the next missions bringing carbonaceous asteroid samples to JSC are Hayabusa 2/ asteroid Ryugu and OSIRIS-Rex/ asteroid Bennu, in 2021 and 2023, respectively. The Hayabusa 2 samples are provided as part of an international agreement with JAXA. The NASA Curation Office plans for the requirements of future collections in an "Advanced Curation" program. Advanced Curation is tasked with developing procedures, technology, and data sets necessary for curating new types of collections as envisioned by NASA exploration goals. Here we review the science value and sample curation needs of some potential targets for sample return missions over the next 35 years.

McCubbin, F. M.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

The Unique Scientific Value of Returned Samples

Most of the materials in the universe are so distant or inaccessible that the only way we can study them is remotely using various types of telescopes. However, in some cases we can study these materials directly because the samples become physically available to us. Some samples come to us of their own accord in the form of meteorites and cosmic dust. In other cases we have to work hard to carry out sample return missions like Apollo, Stardust, OSIRIS-REx, Hayabusa, and Hayabusa2 in order to get the samples ourselves. Once samples are physically available in terrestrial laboratories, we can learn details about their compositions and histories that could never be established by remote observations. This talk will highlight some of the unique scientific advances that can be made through the study of extraterrestrial materials, and will describe the various ways in which samples become available for study, with a focus on the acquisition of samples by sample return spacecraft missions. Aspects of NASA’s Stardust comet sample return mission and JAXA’s Hayabusa asteroid sample return mission will be highlighted and scientific highlights of these missions will be discussed. Finally, the presentation will end with an overview of the current status of NASA’s OSIRIS-Rex mission, which will is currently at Asteroid (101955) Bennu and will be returning samples to Earth in 2023.

Extraterrestrial Samples↗
NASA NTRS2020

Advanced Curation of Astromaterials for Planetary Science Over the Next Decade

Advanced curation is a cross-disciplinary field of research and development aiming to improve curation and sample acquisition practices in existing astromaterials collections and to enable future sample return activities.The primary result of advanced curation is to both reduce and quantify contamination to astromaterials and preserve the scientific integrity of all samples from mission inception to scientific analysis. Over the next decade, NASA should support advanced curation research and monitoring efforts as they pertain to improving our current collections and preparing for samples from current and future astromaterials acquisition activities.We highlight here five advanced curation activities of critical importance for the success of sample science supported by NASA over the coming decade, including: 1) supporting efforts to build contamination knowledge collections as part of sample return missions, which requires curation involvement from the earliest stages of sample return mission planning;2) supporting Earth-based astromaterials collection campaigns of meteorites and cosmic dust as they represent relatively inexpensive sample acquisition activities that continue to grow NASA’s astromaterials collections and enable new discoveries;3) preparing to curate and process samples under “cold” conditions to enable return of samples from volatile-rich Solar System targets like permanently shadowed regions on the lunar surface orcomets;4) determining how best to combine clean room technology and biosafety technology into one infrastructure to support curation of samples from bodies designated as Category V:Restricted Earth Return; and 5) supporting real-time monitoring and testing of curation labs to verify that sample processing environments remain clean from the standpoint of inorganic, organic, and biological contamination

Francis M. McCubbin↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Ultrapure Water System at JSC for High Purity Cleaning of Flight Hardware, Astromaterial Handling Tools and Solar Wind Samples

Use of Ultrapure Water (UPW) for cleaning of astromaterial sample handling tools and containers was driven by the discontinuation of Freon 113 as a cleaning solvent, due to environmental concerns. Freon 113, recycled using distillation, was very effective at removing organic residues from sample handling hardware. The initial switch to high purity water for astromaterial tool cleaning was modeled after efforts at White Sands Test Facility (WSTF) and current semiconductor UPW production practices in the early 1990s. JSC curation’s first system was comprised of ion exchange polishing cylinders, 55 gallon PVDF-lined storage tank, a few tens of feet of PVDF piping, UV and particle filtration, and this system supported cleaning for lunar, meteorite and Cosmic Dust collectors lab operations. By 2000 a major expansion and upgrade was providing UPW of quality E-1 (ASTM D5127-90) or better at 10 gpm for cleaning of the Genesis solar wind payload for flight, in addition to sample handling tools for other astromaterials. This expansion included a 1000 gallon storage tank and several hundred feet of PVDF piping located in B. 31 and 31N. An extra reverse osmosis process unit was added to incoming water in 2005. Subsequently several major components were replaced, and in anticipation of adding new labs, an enlarged UPW system was designed in 2018 and completed in 2019. This system produces grade E1.1 UPW at 15 gpm in a continuous 1100 ft. loop with 5000 gal. storage tank, supplying 8 laboratories.

Ultrapure water↗
NASA NTRS2018

Using Dust Shed from Asteroids as Microsamples to Link Remote Measurements with Meteorite Classes

Given the diversity of asteroids, it is impossible to consider returning samples from each one• Dust particles are abundant around asteroids• Primary minerals and organic materials can be measured by in situ dust detectorinstruments• These particles can be used to classify the parent body as an ordinary chondrite,basaltic achondrite, or other class of meteorite• Such instruments could provide direct links to known meteorite groups withoutreturning the samples to terrestrial laboratories

Cohen, B. A.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Interplanetary dust particles collected from the stratosphere: Physical, chemical, and mineralogical properties and implications for their sources

The suggestion that significant quantities of interplanetary dust are produced by both main-belt asteroids and comets is based on the Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS) detection of dust trails or bands associated with these objects. Gravitational focusing strongly biases all near-Earth collections of interplanetary dust in favor of particles with the lowest geocentric velocities, that is the dust from main-belt asteroids spiraling into the Sun under the influence of Poynting-Robertson radiation drag. The major dust bands in the main-belt appear to be associated with the catastrophic disruptions which produced the Eos, Themis and Koronis families of asteroids. If dust particles are produced in the catastrophic collision process, then Poynting-Robertson radiation drag is such an efficient transport mechanism from the main-belt to 1 AU that near-Earth collections of interplanetary dust should include, and perhaps be dominated by, this material. Interplanetary dust particles from 5 to 100 micrometers in diameter have been recovered from the stratosphere of the Earth by NASA sampling aircraft since the mid-1970s. The densities of a large fraction of these interplanetary dust particles are significantly lower than the densities of their constituent silicate mineral phases, indicating significant porosites. The majority of the particles are chemically and mineralogically similar to, but not identical to, the carbonaceous chondrite meteorites. Most stony interplanetary dust particles have carbon contents exceeding those of Allende, a carbonaceous chondrite meteorite having a low albedo. Higher albedo particles corresponding to S-type asteroids are underrepresented or absent from the stratospheric collections, and primitive carbonaceous particles seem to be overrepresented in the stratospheric collections compared to the fraction of main-belt asteroids classified as primitive. This suggests that much of the interplanetary dust may be generated by a stochastic process, probably preferentially sampling a few most recent collisional events.

Flynn, George J.↗
NASA NTRS1997

Deuterium Enrichment of Amino and Hydroxy Acids Found in the Murchison Meteorite: Constraints on Parent Body Conditions

The alpha-amino and alpha-hydroxy acids found in the Murchison carbonaceous chondrite are deuterium enriched. These compounds are thought to have originated from common deuterium enriched carbonyl precursors, by way of a Strecker synthesis which took place in a solution of HCN, NH3, and carbonyl compounds during the period of aqueous alteration of the meteorite parent body. However, the hydroxy acids found on Murchison are less deuterium enriched than the amino acids. With the objective of determining if the discrepancy in deuterium enrichment between the amino acids and the hydroxy acids found on Murchison is consistent with their formation in a Strecker synthesis, we have measured the deuterium content of alpha-amino and alpha-hydroxy acids produced in solutions of deuterated carbonyl compounds, KCN and NH4Cl, and also in mixtures of such solutions and Allende dust at 263 K and 295 K. Retention of the isotopic signature of the starting carbonyl by both alpha amino acids and alpha hydroxy acids is more dependent upon temperature, concentration and pH than upon the presence of meteorite dust in the solution. The constraints these observations place on Murchison parent body conditions will be discussed.

Lerner, Narcinda R.↗
NASA NTRS2005

Near-Earth Object (NEO) Hazard Background

The fundamental problem regarding NEO hazards is that the Earth and other planets, as well as their moons, share the solar system with a vast number of small planetary bodies and orbiting debris. Objects of substantial size are typically classified as either comets or asteroids. Although the solar system is quite expansive, the planets and moons (as well as the Sun) are occasionally impacted by these objects. We live in a cosmic shooting gallery where collisions with Earth occur on a regular basis. Because the number of smaller comets and asteroids is believed to be much greater than larger objects, the frequency of impacts is significantly higher. Fortunately, the smaller objects, which are much more numerous, are usually neutralized by the Earth's protective atmosphere. It is estimated that between 1000 and 10,000 tons of debris fall to Earth each year, most of it in the form of dust particles and extremely small meteorites. With no atmosphere, the Moon's surface is continuously impacted with dust and small debris. On November 17 and 18, 1999, during the annual Leonid meteor shower, several lunar surface impacts were observed by amateur astronomers in North America. The Leonids result from the Earth's passage each year through the debris ejected from Comet Tempel-Tuttle. These annual showers provide a periodic reminder of the possibility of a much more consequential cosmic collision, and the heavily cratered lunar surface acts a constant testimony to the impact threat. The impact problem and those planetary bodies that are a threat have been discussed in great depth in a wide range of publications and books, such as The Spaceguard Survey , Hazards Due to Comets and Asteroids, and Cosmic Catastrophes. This paper gives a brief overview on the background of this problem and address some limitations of ground-based surveys for detection of small and/or faint near-Earth objects.

Mazanek, Daniel D.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Refractory solids in chondrites and comets: How similar

The grains of ice, dust, and organic material that came together to form the solar system have been preserved to differing degrees in the most primitive solar system bodies, asteroids and comets. The study of samples of asteroids (in the form of chondritic meteorites) reveals that the dust component was extensively altered by high-temperature events and processes in the early solar system, before it was aggregated into chondritic planetesimals. The nature of these high-temperature events and processes is not known, but the evidence of their operation is pervasive and unequivocal. Are the refractory particles in comets likely to be similar to these chondrite components. Probably not (except for the presolar carbonaceous grains in chondrites), because the chondritic components are products of severe thermal processing, and all imaginable energy sources that could have provided the heat tend to diminish with distance from the sun. Every indication is that comets formed at much greater radial distances than asteroids, so the particles they incorporated would have experienced less heating. The possibilities cannot be completely ruled out that comets, too, formed inside the present orbit of Jupiter, or that thermally-processed grains were able to diffuse great radial distances before being incorporated in accreting objects, but it is far more likely that most of the refractory grains in comets have been spared the extreme thermal processing that shaped the character of chondritic components.

Wood, John A.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Evaluation of the Strecker synthesis as a source of amino acids on carbonaceous chondrites

The Strecker synthesis (SS) has been proposed as the source of amino acids (AA) formed during aqueous alteration of carbonaceous chondrites. It is postulated that the aldehyde and ketone precursors of the meteoritic AA originated in interstellar syntheses and accreted on the meteorite parent body along with other reactant species in cometesimal ices. The SS has been run with formaldehyde, acetyldehyde, propionaldehyde, acetone, and methyl ketone as starting materials. To study the effect of minerals on the reaction, the SS was run in the presence and absence of dust from the Allende meteorite using deuterated aldehydes and ketones as starting materials. The products were studied by GC/MS. With the exception of glycine, the retention of deuterium in the AA was greater than 90 pct. Some D exchange with water does occur, however, and determination of the rate of exchange as a function of pH and temperature may allow some bounds to be placed on the duration of parent body aqueous alteration. The retention of D by the AA under conditions studied thus far is consistent with the model that a SS starting from interstellar aldehydes and ketones led to the production of meteoritic AA.

Lerner, N. R.↗
NASA NTRS2017

Search for Primitive Matter in the Solar System

Recent astronomical observations and theoretical modeling led to a consensus regarding the global scenario of the formation of young stellar objects (YSO) from a cold molecular cloud of interstellar dust (organics and minerals) and gas that, in some cases, leads to the formation of a planetary system. In the case of our Solar System, which has already evolved for approximately 4567 Ma, the quest is to access, through the investigation of planets, moons, cometary and asteroidal bodies, meteorites, micrometeorites, and interplanetary dust particles, the primitive material that contains the key information about the early Solar System processes and its evolution. However, laboratory analyses of extraterrestrial samples, astronomical observations and dynamical models of the Solar System evolution have not brought yet any conclusive evidence on the nature and location of primitive matter in the Solar System, preventing a clear understanding of its early stages.

Libourel, G.↗
NASA NTRS2015

Using Dust from Asteroids as Regolith Microsamples

Meteorite science is rich with compositional indicators by which we classify parent bodies, but few sample groups are definitively linked with asteroid spectra. More robust links need to be forged between meteorites and their parent bodies to understand the composition, diversity and distribution. A major link can be sample analysis of the parent body material and comparison with meteorite data. Hayabusa, the first sample return mission of the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), was developed to rendezvous with and collect samples from asteroid Itokawa and return them to Earth. Thousands of sub-100 micron particles were recovered, apparently introduced during the spacecraft impact into the surface of the asteroid, linking the asteroid Itokawa to LL chondrites [1]. Upcoming missions Hayabusa 2 and OSIRIS-REx will collect more significant sample masses from asteroids. In all these cases, the samples are or will be a collection of regolith particles. Sample return to earth is not the only method for regolith particle analysis. Dust is present around all airless bodies, generated by micrometeorite impact into their airless surfaces, which in turn lofts regolith particles into a "cloud" around the body. The composition, flux, and size-frequency distribution of dust particles can provide significant insight into the geological evolution of airless bodies [2]. For example, the Cassini Cosmic Dust Analyzer (CDA) detected salts in Enceladus' icy plume material, providing evidence for a subsurface ocean in contact with a silicate seafloor [3]. Similar instruments have flown on the Rosetta, LADEE, and Stardust missions. Such an instrument may be of great use in obtaining the elemental, isotopic and mineralogical composition measurement of dust particles originating from asteroids without returning the samples to terrestrial laboratories. We investigated the ability of a limited sample analysis capability using a dust instrument to forge links between asteroid regolith particles and known meteorite groups. We further set limits on the number of individual particles statistically needed to robustly reproduce a bulk composition.

microsamples↗
NASA NTRS2014

NASA's Astromaterials Database: Enabling Research Through Increased Access to Sample Data, Metadata and Imagery

The Astromaterials Acquisition & Curation Office at NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC) is the designated facility for curating all of NASA's extraterrestrial samples. Today, the suite of collections includes the lunar samples from the Apollo missions, cosmic dust particles falling into the Earth's atmosphere, meteorites collected in Antarctica, comet and interstellar dust particles from the Stardust mission, asteroid particles from Japan's Hayabusa mission, solar wind atoms collected during the Genesis mission, and space‐exposed hardware from several missions. To support planetary science research on these samples, JSC's Astromaterials Curation Office hosts NASA's Astromaterials Curation digital repository and data access portal [http://curator.jsc.nasa.gov/], providing descriptions of the missions and collections, and critical information about each individual sample. Our office is designing and implementing several informatics initiatives to better serve the planetary research community. First, we are re‐hosting the basic database framework by consolidating legacy databases for individual collections and providing a uniform access point for information (descriptions, imagery, classification) on all of our samples. Second, we continue to upgrade and host digital compendia that summarize and highlight published findings on the samples (e.g., lunar samples, meteorites from Mars). We host high resolution imagery of samples as it becomes available, including newly scanned images of historical prints from the Apollo missions. Finally we are creating plans to collect and provide new data, including 3D imagery, point cloud data, micro CT data, and external links to other data sets on selected samples. Together, these individual efforts will provide unprecedented digital access to NASA's Astromaterials, enabling preservation of the samples through more specific and targeted requests, and supporting new planetary science research and collaborations on the samples.

Evans, Cindy↗
NASA NTRS2015

Improving the Discoverability and Availability of Sample Data and Imagery in NASA's Astromaterials Curation Digital Repository Using a New Common Architecture for Sample Databases

The Astromaterials Acquisition and Curation Office at NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC) is the designated facility for curating all of NASA's extraterrestrial samples. The suite of collections includes the lunar samples from the Apollo missions, cosmic dust particles falling into the Earth's atmosphere, meteorites collected in Antarctica, comet and interstellar dust particles from the Stardust mission, asteroid particles from the Japanese Hayabusa mission, and solar wind atoms collected during the Genesis mission. To support planetary science research on these samples, NASA's Astromaterials Curation Office hosts the Astromaterials Curation Digital Repository, which provides descriptions of the missions and collections, and critical information about each individual sample. Our office is implementing several informatics initiatives with the goal of better serving the planetary research community. One of these initiatives aims to increase the availability and discoverability of sample data and images through the use of a newly designed common architecture for Astromaterials Curation databases.

Todd, N. S.↗