Important nutrients for the first living organisms on Earth may have come from space, according to new research from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.
asteroid
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Comets and Asteroids, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mars, Meteorites & Asteroids, Status Report
Spectro-photometry of Phobos simulants: I. Detectability of Hydrated Minerals and Organic Bands
Previous observations of Phobos and Deimos, the moons of Mars, have improved our understanding of these small bodies. However, their formation and composition remain poorly constrained.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Comets and Asteroids, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Meteorites & Asteroids, Status Report
Comparative Mid-Infrared Spectroscopy of Dark, Primitive Asteroids: Does Shared Taxonomic Class Indicate Shared Silicate Composition?
Primitive asteroids with low albedos and red slopes in the visible and near infrared (VNIR) are found in both the Main Belt and the Jupiter Trojan clouds.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Exploration Gear & Tech, Meteorites & Asteroids, Missions & Hardware, Sample Return, Status Report
Asteroid (101955) Bennu In The Laboratory: Properties Of The Sample Collected By OSIRIS-REx
On 24 September 2023, the NASA OSIRIS-REx mission dropped a capsule to Earth containing approximately 120 g of pristine carbonaceous regolith from Bennu.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Meteorites & Asteroids, Space Weather & Heliophysics, Status Report
Laser Irradiation of Carbonaceous Chondrite Simulants: Space Weathering Implications for C-complex Asteroids
Surfaces of carbonaceous asteroids (C-complex) have shown diverse contrasting spectral variations, which may be related to space weathering.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release
History Of Ceres’s Young Cold Traps
Ceres, the largest asteroid in our Solar System, harbors a dark secret: Extremely young ice deposits in permanently shadowed craters near its poles. If that sounds vaguely familiar, it’s because […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Comets and Asteroids, Meteorites & Asteroids, Missions & Hardware, Press Release
OSIRIS-REx Asteroid Samples Now Available to World’s Scientists
Scientists outside of NASA’s OSIRIS-REx team are getting their first close look at the asteroid Bennu samples available for independent research just six months after their delivery to Earth.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Impact events, Meteorites & Asteroids, Status Report
Relative Contribution From Comets And Carbonaceous Asteroids To Earth’s Volatile Budget In The Context Of An Early Instability
Recent models of solar system formation suggest that a dynamical instability among the giant planets happened within the first 100 Myr after disk dispersal, perhaps before the Moon-forming impact. As […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Meteorites & Asteroids, Missions & Hardware, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors
QRIS: A Quantitative Reflectance Imaging System for the Pristine Sample of Asteroid Bennu
The Quantitative Reflectance Imaging System (QRIS) is a laboratory-based spectral imaging system constructed to image the sample of asteroid Bennu delivered to Earth by the Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Comets and Asteroids, Meteorites & Asteroids, Status Report
Chondrule Formation During Low-Speed Collisions of Planetesimals: A Hybrid Splash-Flyby Framework
Chondrules probably formed during a small window of time ∼1-4 Ma after CAIs, when most solid matter in the asteroid belt was already in the form of km-sized planetesimals.