Further analysis of LDEF FRECOPA micrometeoroid remnants

Abstract

In the Al collectors of experiment A0138-1 of the French Cooperative Payload (FRECOPA) payload, we identified a population of small craters (3-9 microns in diameter) induced by the impacts of micron-sized grains, mainly of extraterrestrial origin. Chemical analyses of the Interplanetary Dust Particle (IDP) remnants were made in the bottoms and on the rims of the craters, in addition to immediate off-rim areas. So far, the compositional investigation of the craters by Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) has shown evidence of an extraterrestrial origin for the impacting grains. The systematic presence of C and O in the residues has been reported and may be compared with the existence of particles showing high proportions of biogenic light elements and detected in the close environment of P-Halley comet nucleus (called CHON particles). An analytical protocol has been established in order to extract molecular and possible isotopic information on these grains, a fraction of which could be of cometary origin. Although these very small craters may show crater features that are typical of the larger Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) population (greater than 50 microns), some show unique morphologies that we have not previously observed. Our initial Laser Induced Mass Spectrometry (LIMS) analytical results show strong signals for nitrogen-bearing ions in craters characterized by high C and O contents; they also suggest that carbon contents in some craters could exceed that known for carbonaceous chondrites