Scanning micro-raman spectroscopy on carbon-rich residues of primitive chondrites: A tool for chondrite classification and stardust analysis

We present results obtained by Raman spectroscopy of various organic residues of primitive chondrites in order to better characterize the microstructural state of the organic matter. These results will be correlated with the petographic classification of the chondrites

Rapid Classification of Ordinary Chondrites Using Raman Spectroscopy

Classification of ordinary chondrites is typically done through measurements of the composition of olivine and pyroxenes. Historically, this measurement has usually been performed via electron microprobe, oil immersion or other methods which can be costly through lost sample material during thin section preparation. Raman microscopy can perform the same measurements but considerably faster and with much less sample preparation allowing for faster classification. Raman spectroscopy can facilitate more rapid classification of large amounts of chondrites such as those retrieved from North Africa and potentially Antarctica, are present in large collections, or are submitted to a curation facility by the public. With development, this approach may provide a completely automated classification method of all chondrite types

Everyone Wins: A Mars-Impact Origin for Carbonaceous Phobos and Deimos

Discussions of Phobos' and Deimos' origin(s) tend to feature an orthogonally opposed pair of observations: dynamical studies which favor coalescence of the moons from an orbital debris ring arising from a large impact on Mars; and reflectance spectroscopy of the moons that indicate a carbonaceous composition that is not consistent with Martian surface materials. One way to reconcile this discrepancy is to consider the option of a Mars-impact origin for Phobos and Deimos, followed by surficial decoration of carbon-rich materials by interplanetary dust particles (IDP). The moons experience a high IDP flux because of their location in Mars' gravity well. Calculations show that accreted carbon is sufficient to produce a surface with reflectance spectra resembling carbonaceous chondrites

Potential Alteration of Analogue Regolith by X-Ray Computed Tomography

The Mars 2020 rover mission will collect and cache samples from the martian surface for possible retrieval and subsequent return to Earth. Mars Returned Samples may provide definitive information about the presence of organic compounds that could shed light on the existence of past or present life on Mars. Post-mission analyses will depend on the development of a set of reliable sample handling and analysis procedures that cover the full range of materials which may or may not contain evidence of past or present martian life [1]

O-17 Hyperfine Spectroscopy Reveals Hydration Structure of Nitroxide Radicals in Aqueous Solutions

The hydrationstructureof nitroxideradicalsin aqueoussolutionsis elucidatedby advanced17Ohyperfine(hf) spectroscopywith supportof quantumchemicalcalculationsand MD simulations.A piperidineand a pyrrolidine-basednitroxideradical are comparedand show clear differencesin the preferreddirectionalityof H-bondformation.We demonstratethat thesescenariosare best representedin17O hf spectra,wherein-planecoordinationovers-type H-bondingleads tolittle spin densitytransferon the water oxygenand smallhf couplings,whereasp-type perpendicularcoordinationgeneratesmuch larger hf couplings.Quantitativeanaly-sis of the spectrabased on MD simulationsand DFTpredictedhf parametersis consistentwith a distributionof close solvatingwater molecules,in which direction-ality is influencedby subtle steric effects of the ring andthe methyl group substituents

Análise de componentes principais da circunferência escrotal em touros da raça Canchim.

O objetivo deste trabalho foi estudar a inter-relação entre medidas da circuferência escrotal aos 12, 18 e 24 meses de idade de 293 touros da raça Canchim, utilizando-se dos componentes principais. O primeiro componente principal explicou 72% da variação total, e um índice das características estudadas com a importância das mesmas. O segundo e o terceiro componentes principais explicaram 19 e 9% de variação total, respectivamente, e constratam animais com maiores medidas de circuferência escrotal em idades mais jovens com animais de maiores circunferências em idades posteriores.Resumo expandido

Meteoritic Material Recovered from the 07 March 2018 Meteorite Fall into the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary

On 07 March 2018 at 20:05 local time (08 March 03:05 UTC), a dramatic meteor occurred over Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary (OCNMS) off of the Washington state coast (OCNMS fall, henceforth). Data to include seismometry (from both on-shore and submarine seismometers), weather radar imagery (Figure 1), and a moored weather buoy, were used to accurately identify the fall site. The site was visited by the exploration vessel E/V Nautilus (Ocean Exploration Trust) on 01 July 2018 [1] and by the research vessel R/V Falkor (Schmidt Ocean Institute) from 03-06 June 2019. Remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) from both vessels were used to search for meteorites and sample seafloor sediments. These expeditions performed the first attempts to recover meteorites from a specific observed fall in the open ocean. Analysis of weather radar data indicates that this fall was unusually massive and featured meteorites of unusually high mechanical toughness, such that large meteorites were disproportionately produced compared to other meteorite falls (Figure 2)[2-4]. We report the recovery of many (>100) micrometeorite-sized melt spherules and other fragments, and one small (~1mm3 ) unmelted meteorite fragment identified to date. Approximately 80% of the fragments were recovered from a single sample, collected from a round pit in the seafloor sediment. Melt spherules are almost exclusively type I iron-rich spherules with little discernible oxidation. Analyses are currently underway to attempt to answer the primary science question by identifying the parent meteorite type. Also, differences in the number and nature of samples collected by Nautilus and Falkor reveal a distinct loss rate to oxidation over the 15 months following the fall that is useful to inform future recovery efforts

Sample Handling Considerations for a Europa Sample Return Mission: An Overview

The intent of this abstract is to provide a basic overview of mission requirements for a generic Europan plume sample return mission, based on NASA Curation experience in NASA sample return missions ranging from Apollo to OSIRIS-REx. This should be useful for mission conception and early stage planning. We will break the mission down into Outbound and Return legs and discuss them separately

Infrared, UV/VIS and Raman Spectroscopy of Comet Wild-2 Samples Returned by the Stardust Mission

Results from the preliminary examination of Stardust samples obtained using various spectroscopic methods will be presented

The Mars 2020 Rover Mission: EISD Participation in Mission Science and Exploration

The Mars 2020 Rover mission will search for potential biosignatures on the martian surface, use new techniques to search for and identify tracelevel organics, and prepare a cache of samples for potential return to Earth. Identifying trace organic compounds is an important tenet of searching for potential biosignatures. Previous landed missions have experienced difficulty identifying unambiguously martian, unaltered organic compounds, possibly because any organic species have been destroyed on heating in the presence of martian perchlorates and/or other oxidants. The SHERLOC instrument on Mars 2020 will use ultraviolet (UV) fluorescence and Raman spectroscopy to identify trace organic compounds without heating the samples