Organic Matter in the Solar System—Implications for Future on-Site and Sample Return Missions

Martins, Zita; Chan, Queenie H. S.; Bonal, L.; King, A. J.; Yabuta, Hikaru

doi:10.1007/s11214-020-00679-6

Cited by 21 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 243 publications

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“…Due to their spectral similarity, carbonaceous chondrites, and C-type asteroids are suspected to be related to each other and might therefore be similar in their amounts of organic matter (Martins et al 2020). Attributed features to organic compounds have been detected for some asteroids (Cruikshank & Brown 1987;Campins et al 2010;Rivkin & Emery 2010;Licandro et al 2011).…”

Section: Main Belt Asteroids (And Ceres)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Sulfur ion irradiation experiments simulating space weathering of Solar System body surfaces

Ruf

Bouquet

Schmitt‐Kopplin

et al. 2021

A&A

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Context. Sulfur (S) is of prime interest in the context of (astro)chemical evolution and habitability. However, the origin of S-bearing organic compounds in the Solar System is still not well constrained. Aims. We carried out laboratory experiments to test whether complex organosulfur compounds can be formed when surfaces of icy Solar System bodies are subject to high-energy S ions. Methods. Non-S-bearing organic residues, formed during the processing of astrophysical H 2 O:CH 3 OH:NH 3 -bearing ice analogs, were irradiated with 105 keV-S 7+ ions at 10 K and analyzed by high-resolving FT-ICR-MS. The resulting data were comprehensively analyzed, including network analysis tools. Results. Out of several thousands of detected compounds, 16% contain at least one sulfur atom (organosulfur (CHNOS) compounds), as verified via isotopic fine structures. These residue-related organosulfur compounds are different from those formed during the S ion irradiation of ices at 10 K. Furthermore, insoluble, apolar material was formed during the sulfur irradiation of residues. Potential organosulfur precursors (CHNO molecules) were identified by means of molecular networks. Conclusions. This evidence of organosulfur compounds formed by sulfur irradiation of organic residues sheds new light onto the rich and complex scope of pristine organosulfur chemistry in the Solar System, presented in the context of current and future space missions. These results indicate that the space weathering of Solar System bodies may lead to the formation of organosulfur compounds.

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Section: Main Belt Asteroids (And Ceres)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Sulfur ion irradiation experiments simulating space weathering of Solar System body surfaces

Ruf

Bouquet

Schmitt‐Kopplin

et al. 2021

A&A

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“…Nowadays these materials are mainly delivered as IDPs, but still a significant part (studied in this paper) comes from periodic meteoroid streams. In the ancient past, close approaches to the terrestrial planets could have produced other ways of delivery to our planet in shorter timescales with significant implications for the delivery of organics and volatiles to early Earth (Trigo-Rodríguez and Saladino, 2019;Martins et al, 2020). The mass distributions of particles released by outgassing from a comet are significantly different to those produced during catastrophic disruption by collisions, or tidally-induced disruptions (Jenniskens, 1995(Jenniskens, , 1998.…”

Section: Overall Implications For Early Earth Delivery Of Volatilesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Learning about comets from the study of mass distributions and fluxes of meteoroid streams

Trigo-Rodríguez

Blum

2021

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

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Meteor physics can provide new clues about the size, structure, and density of cometary disintegration products, establishing a bridge between different research fields. From meteor magnitude data we have estimated the mass distribution of meteoroids from different cometary streams by using the relation between the luminosity and the mass obtained by Verniani (1973). These mass distributions are in the range observed for dust particles released from comets 1P/Halley and 81P/Wild 2 as measured from spacecraft. From the derived mass distributions, we have integrated the incoming mass for the most significant meteor showers. By comparing the mass of the collected Interplanetary Dust Particles (IDPs) with that derived for cometary meteoroids a gap of several orders of magnitude is encountered. The largest examples of fluffy particles are clusters of IDPs no larger than 100 µm in size (or 5×10 -7 g in mass) while the largest cometary meteoroids are centimeter-sized objects. Such gaps can be explained by the fragmentation in the interstellar medium or in the atmosphere of the original cometary particles. As an application of the mass distribution computations we describe the significance of the disruption of fragile comets in close approaches to Earth as a more efficient (and probably more frequent) way to deliver volatiles than direct impacts. We finally apply our model to quantify the flux of meteoroids from different meteoroid streams, and to describe the main physical processes contributing to the progressive decay of cometary meteoroids in the interplanetary medium.

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“…Rigorous identification of terrestrial organic contaminants relies on the ability to contrast the types, distribution, structures and isotopic compositions of organic compounds between typical terrestrial contaminants and extra-terrestrial material. A detailed description of the techniques used for studying organic matter in extra-terrestrial material is given in a separate paper of this issue (Martins et al 2020) so we will not go into details in favour of a brief description here.…”

Section: Determination Of Terrestrial Contaminantsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Concerns of Organic Contamination for Sample Return Space Missions

et al. 2020

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Analysis of organic matter has been one of the major motivations behind solar system exploration missions. It addresses questions related to the organic inventory of our solar system and its implication for the origin of life on Earth. Sample return missions aim at returning scientifically valuable samples from target celestial bodies to Earth. By analysing the samples with the use of state-of-the-art analytical techniques in laboratories here on Earth, researchers can address extremely complicated aspects of extra-terrestrial organic matter. This level of detailed sample characterisation provides the range and depth in organic analysis that are restricted in spacecraft-based exploration missions, due to the limitations of the on-board in-situ instrumentation capabilities. So far, there are four completed and in-process sample return missions with an explicit mandate to collect organic matter: Stardust and OSIRIS-REx missions of NASA, and Hayabusa and Hayabusa2 missions of JAXA. Regardless of the target body, all sample return missions dedicate to minimise terrestrial organic contamination of the returned samples, by applying various degrees or strategies of organic contamination mitigation methods. Despite the dedicated efforts in the design and execution of contamination control, it is impossible to completely eliminate sources of organic contamination. This paper aims at providing an overview of the successes and lessons learned with regards to the identification of indigenous organic matter of the returned samples vs terrestrial contamination.

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Organic Matter in the Solar System—Implications for Future on-Site and Sample Return Missions

Cited by 21 publications

References 243 publications

Sulfur ion irradiation experiments simulating space weathering of Solar System body surfaces

Sulfur ion irradiation experiments simulating space weathering of Solar System body surfaces

Learning about comets from the study of mass distributions and fluxes of meteoroid streams

Concerns of Organic Contamination for Sample Return Space Missions

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