The influence of chondrules on sub-mm fragment shape distributions in Allende impact experiments

The surfaces of sub-kilometer-sized asteroids directly explored by spacecraft, such as Itokawa, Ryugu and Bennu, are covered with blocks and/or regolith particles, whose shapes are considered clues to understanding their formation and evolution on the asteroid's surface. Ryugu particles returned by the Hayabusa2 mission are likely fragments resulting from impacts because their shapes resemble impact fragments from laboratory experiments. However, there is a lack of laboratory impact experiments examining the shapes of fragments in carbonaceous chondrites, thought to originate from carbonaceous asteroids such as Ryugu and Bennu. The measured sizes of Ryugu particles are in the mm and sub-mm range, similar to the sizes of chondrules. Also, carbonaceous chondrites are generally structurally weaker than the basalts and granites often used in previous laboratory impact experiments. Differences in the strength of the chondrules and matrix might affect the overall strength of the meteorite. In this study, as a first step towards a better understanding of impact fragment shapes in carbonaceous chondrites, we conducted impact experiments on the carbonaceous meteorite Allende (CV3). A spherical alumina projectile with 1.0 mm and a glass projectile with 0.80 mm in diameter were fired into 1–2 cm-sized Allende targets at nominal impact velocities of 2.0 and 4.0 km/s, respectively. To investigate the correlation between the chondrules (typically sub-mm in size) and the shapes of fine fragments, we measured the shape distributions of sub-mm impact fragments using X-ray microtomography. We observed several impact fracture surfaces along the chondrule boundaries. In addition, these fragments tended to be rounder than fragments from previous impact experiments. However, because the total number of these fragments is relatively small, the fragments were found to have the same overall shape distribution as previous laboratory impact fragments, Itokawa particles and Ryugu particles. This may imply that impact fragment shapes are independent of the bulk material strength. These findings will be useful for understanding the formation process of regolith layers on asteroid surfaces, Itokawa particles, Ryugu particles, and Bennu particles.Validerad;2024;Nivå 2;2024-04-23 (signyg);Funder: JSPS KAKENHI (JP20K04048;JP22H00162;BR230501); SNSA (2021-00078);Full text license: CC BY</p

Three-dimensional imaging of high-velocity-impact induced crack growth in carbonaceous meteorites

The material strength of meteorites provides useful information on the make-up and history of asteroids. However, the unique determination of the material strength of a meteorite is difficult because of the wide range of strengths many meteorites exhibit. Even within a single sample, complicated textures and mineral granular compositions make measurements difficult. Michikami et al. (2019) investigated the impact-induced crack growth in ordinary (L5) chondrites and indicated that crack growth is largely affected by the strength of individual mineral grains (and/or chondrules). In this study, we examine the strengths of mineral grains in carbonaceous meteorites qualitatively. To this end, we use X-ray microtomography to investigate how chondrules are affected by impact-induced crack growth in carbonaceous meteorites. Spherical alumina projectiles with a diameter of 1.0 mm were fired into the surfaces of seven Allende (CV) meteorite target samples with sizes of -1 to 2 cm at a nominal impact velocity of 2.0 km/s. In addition, spherical glass projectiles with a diameter 0.8 mm were fired into the target surfaces of two Murchison (CM) and two Aguas Zarcas (CM) meteorite target samples with sizes of -2 cm at a nominal impact velocity of 4.0 km/s. The results show that most cracks in CV chondrites tend to grow along the boundary surfaces of the chondrules, while most chondrule-related cracks in CM samples grow regardless of the boundary surfaces of the chondrules. This suggests that crack growth is largely affected by the chondrules&amp;apos; strength as indicated by Michikami et al. (2019). The weaker the strength of chondrules, the more likely crack growth tends to occur regardless of chondrule boundaries. We found that the mesostasis of chondrules in CM meteorite Murchison (and likely Aguas Zarcas) has experienced aqueous alteration and the chondrules have become structurally weak as a whole. This indicates that impact-induced crack propagation in CM chondrites differs from thermal-fatigue induced crack propagation inferred from previous studies. As the sample material to be returned from asteroid Bennu is considered to be related to CM chondrites, we propose that observation of the cracks in chondrules in Bennu samples might tell us whether those cracks are impact- or thermal-fatigue-induced.Validerad;2023;Nivå 2;2023-01-16 (sofila);Funder: JSPS KAKENHI (grant nos.  JP20K04048 and JP20H00205); Chinese Academy of Sciences International Fellowship for Visiting Scientists (grant no. 2019VCA0004); SNSA (Dnr. 2021-00078); Hypervelocity Impact Facility, ISAS, JAXA</p

Progression of dissolution in the internal structure of foraminifera shell based on X-ray CT

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