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NASA NTRS2015

BILLIARDS: A Demonstration Mission for Hundred-Meter Class Near Earth Asteroid Disruption

Currently, no planetary defense demonstration mission has ever been flown. While Nuclear Explosive Devices (NEDs) have significantly more energy than a kinetic impactor launched directly from Earth, they present safety and political complications, and therefore may only be used when absolutely necessary. The Baseline Instrumented Lithology Lander, Inspector, and Asteroid Redirection Demonstration System (BILLIARDS) is a demonstration mission for planetary defense, which is capable of delivering comparable energy to the lower range of NED capabilities in the form of a safer kinetic impactor. A small asteroid (<10m) is captured by a spacecraft, which greatly increases the mass available as a kinetic impactor, without the need to bring all of the mass out of Earth's gravity well. The small asteroid is then deflected onto a collision course with a larger (approx. 100m) asteroid. This collision will deflect or disrupt the larger asteroid. To reduce the cost and complexity, an asteroid pair which has a natural close approach is selected.

Planetary Defense↗
NASA NTRS2016

Alumina+Silica+/-Germanium Alteration in Smectite-Bearing Marathon Valley, Endeavour Crater Rim, Mars

Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity has been exploring Mars for 12+ years, and is presently investigating the geology of a western rim segment of 22 kilometers diameter, Noachian- aged Endeavour crater. The Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer has determined the compositions of a pre-impact lithology, the Matijevic fm., and polymict impact breccias ejected from the crater, the Shoemaker fm. Opportunity is now investigating a region named Marathon Valley that cuts southwest-northeast through the central portion of the rim segment and provides a window into the lower stratigraphic record. (Geographic names used here are informal.) At the head of Marathon Valley, referred to here as Upper Marathon Valley, is a shallow, ovoid depression approximately 25×35 millimeters in size, named Spirit of Saint Louis. Layering inside Spirit of Saint Louis appears continuous with the Upper Marathon Valley rocks outside, indicating they are coeval. Spirit of Saint Louis is partly bounded by approximately 10-20 centimeters wide zone containing reddish altered rocks (red zone). Red zones also form prominent curvilinear features in Marathon Valley. Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM) spectra provide evidence for a really extensive Fe-Mg smectite in the Marathon Valley region, indicating distinct styles of aqueous alteration. The CRISM detections of smectites are based on metal-OH absorptions at approximately 2.3 and 2.4 micron that are at least two times the background noise level.

Mittlefehldt, D. W.↗
NASA NTRS2016

Feldspathic Meteorites MIL 090034 and 090070: Late Additions to the Lunar Crust

Our studies of the Miller Range lunar meteorites MIL 090034, 090036, and 090070 show them to be a diverse suite of rocks from the lunar highlands hereafter referred to as MIL 34, MIL 36, and MIL 70, resp. MIL34 and MIL70, the focus of this work, are crystalline melt breccias. Plagioclase compositions in both peak sharply around An96-97. Mg numbers of olivine vary from 58-65 with a few higher values. MIL36 is a regolith breccia. MIL 34 and MIL 70 have some of the highest Al2O3 abundances of lunar highland meteorites, indicating that they have among the largest modal abundances of plagioclase for lunar meteorites. They have lower Sc and Cr abundances than nearly all lunar highland meteorites except Dho 081, Dho 489 and Dho 733. MIL34 and MIL70 also have similar cosmic ray exposure (CRE) ages of approximately 1-2 Ma indicating they are launch paired. (MIL36 has a larger CRE age approximately greater than 70 Ma). Park et al. found a variation in Ar-Ar ages among subsamples of MIL 34 and MIL70, but preferred ages of 3500+/-110 Ma for the "Dark" phase of MIL 34 anorthite and 3520+/-30 Ma for the "Light" phase of MIL70. Bouvier et al. reported a Pb-Pb age of 3894+/-39 Ma for a feldspathic clast of MIL 34 and a similar age for a melt lithology. Here we reexamine the Rb-Sr and Sm-Nd isotopic data, which show complexities qualitatively consistent with those of the Ar-Ar and Pb-Pb data. The Sm-Nd data in particular suggest that the feldspathic compositions of MIL 34 and MIL 70 formed during initial lunar geochemical differentiation, and REE modeling suggests a relatively late-stage formation.

Nyquist, L. E.↗
NASA NTRS2016

Experimental Simulations of Lunar Magma Ocean Crystallization: The Plot (But Not the Crust) Thickens

Numerical models of differentiation of a global-scale lunar magma ocean (LMO) have raised as many questions as they have answered. Recent orbital missions and sample studies have provided new context for a large range of lithologies, from the comparatively magnesian "purest anorthosite" reported by to Si-rich domes and spinel-rich clasts with widespread areal distributions. In addition, the GRAIL mission provided strong constraints on lunar crustal density and average thickness. Can this increasingly complex geology be accounted for via the formation and evolution of the LMO? We have in recent years been conducting extensive sets of petrologic experiments designed to fully simulate LMO crystallization, which had not been attempted previously. Here we review the key results from these experiments, which show that LMO differentiation is more complex than initial models suggested. Several important features expected from LMO crystallization models have yet to be reproduced experimentally; combined modelling and experimental work by our group is ongoing.

Draper, D. S.↗
NASA NTRS2016

Water in the Cratonic Mantle Lithosphere

The fact that Archean and Proterozoic cratons are underlain by the thickest (>200 km) lithosphere on Earth has always puzzled scientists because the dynamic convection of the surrounding asthenosphere would be expected to delaminate and erode these mantle lithospheric "keels" over time. Although density and temperature of the cratonic lithosphere certainly play a role in its strength and longevity, the role of water has only been recently addressed with data on actual mantle samples. Water in mantle lithologies (primarily peridotites and pyroxenites) is mainly stored in nominally anhydrous minerals (olivine, pyroxene, garnet) where it is incorporated as hydrogen bonded to structural oxygen in lattice defects. The property of hydrolytic weakening of olivine [4] has generated the hypothesis that olivine, the main mineral of the upper mantle, may be dehydrated in cratonic mantle lithospheres, contributing to its strength. This presentation will review the distribution of water concentrations in four cratonic lithospheres. The distribution of water contents in olivine from peridotite xenoliths found in kimberlites is different in each craton (Figure 1). The range of water contents of olivine, pyroxene and garnet at each xenolith location appears linked to local metasomatic events, some of which occurred later then the Archean and Proterozoic when these peridotites initially formed via melting. Although the low olivine water contents (<10 ppm wt H2O) at > 6 GPa at the base of the Kaapvaal cratonic lithosphere may contribute to its strength, and prevent its delamination, the wide range of those from Siberian xenoliths is not compatible with providing a high enough viscosity contrast with the asthenophere. The water content in olivine inclusions from Siberian diamonds, on the other hand, have systematically low water contents (<20 ppm wt H2O). The xenoliths may represent a biased sample of the cratonic lithosphere with an over-­abundance of metasomatized peridotites with high water contents. The olivine inclusions, however, may have been protected from metasomatism by their host diamond and record the overall low olivine water content of the cratonic lithosphere. Water may thus still play a role in cratonic keel longevity.

Peslier, A. H.↗
NASA NTRS2007

Effects of Short-Term Thermal Alteration on Organic Matter in Experimentally-Heated Tagish Lake Observed by Raman Spectroscopy

Carbonaceous chondrites exhibit a wide range of aqueous and thermal alteration characteristics. Examples of the thermally metamorphosed carbonaceous chondrites (TMCCs) include the C2-ung/CM2TIVs Belgica (B)-7904 and Yamato (Y) 86720. The alteration extent is the most complete in these meteorites and thus they are considered typical end-members of TMCCs exhibiting complete dehydration of matrix phyllosilicates [1, 2]. The estimated heating conditions are 10 to 10(sup 3) days at 700 C to 1 to 100 hours at 890 C, i.e. short-term heating induced by impact and/or solar radiation [3]. The chemical and bulk oxygen isotopic compositions of the matrix of the carbonate (CO3)-poor lithology of the Tagish Lake (hereafter Tag) meteorite bears similarities to these TMCCs [4]. We investigated the experimentally-heated Tag with the use of Raman spectroscopy to understand how short-term heating affects the maturity of insoluble organic matter (IOM) in aqueously altered meteorites.

Chan, Q. H. S.↗
NASA NTRS2016

Localized and Areally Extensive Alterations in Marathon Valley, Endeavour Crater Rim, Mars

Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity is exploring the rim of 22 km diameter, Noachian-aged Endeavour crater. Marathon Valley cuts through the central region of the western rim providing a window into the local lower rim stratigraphic record. Spectra from the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars show evidence for the occurrence of Fe-Mg smectite in this valley, indicating areally extensive and distinct lithologic units and/or styles of aqueous alteration. The Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer has determined the compositions of 59 outcrop targets on untreated, brushed and abraded surfaces. Rocks in the Marathon Valley region are soft breccias composed of mm- to cm-sized darker clasts set in a lighter-toned, finegrained matrix. They are basaltic in non-volatile-element composition and compositionally similar to breccias investigated elsewhere on the rim. Alteration styles recorded in the rocks include: (1) Enrichments in Si, Al, Ti and Cr in more reddish-colored rock, consistent with leaching of more soluble cations and/or precipitation of Si +/- Al, Ti, Cr from fluids. Coprecipitation of Ge-rich phases with Si occurred in the western area only; high water:rock is indicated. Pancam multispectral observations indicate higher nanophase ferric oxide contents, but the rocks have lower Fe contents. The highly localized nature of the red zones indicate they cannot be the source of the widespread smectite signature observed from orbit. (2) Outcrops separated by approximately 65 m show common compositional changes between brushed and abraded (approximately 1 mm deep) targets: increases in S and Mg; decreases in Al, Cl and Ca. These changes are likely due to relatively recent, surface-related alteration of valley rocks and formation of surface coatings under low water:rock. (3) One target, from the center of a region of strong CRISM smectite signature, shows modest differences in composition (higher Si, K; lower Mn) compared to most Marathon Valley rocks, while another target approximately 40 cm away on the same outcrop does not; a change towards smectite bulk compositions is not observed. The smectite signature likely resulted from alteration under low water:rock such that primary minerals were partially altered to phyllosilicates, but wholesale leaching of cations by fluids did not occur.

Mittlefehldt, David W.↗
NASA NTRS2017

Petrology of Igneous Clasts in Regolithic Howardite EET 87503

The howardite, eucrite and diogenite (HED) clan of meteorites is widely considered to originate from asteroid 4 Vesta, as a result of a global magma ocean style of differentiation. A global magmatic stage would allow silicate material to be well mixed, destroying any initial heterogeneity that may have been present resulting in the uniformity of eucrite and diogenite delta(exp 17)O, for example. The Fe/Mn ratio of mafic phases in planetary basalts can be diagnostic of different source bodies as this ratio is little-affected by igneous processes, so long as the oxygen and sulphur fugacities are buffered. Here, pyroxene Fe/Mn ratios in mafic clasts in howardite EET 87503 have been determined to further evaluate whether the HED parent asteroid is uniform. Uniformity would suggest that the parent asteroid was subject to homogenization prior to the formation of HED lithologies, likely through an extensive melting phase. Whereas, distinct differences may point towards heterogeneity of the parent body.

Hodges, Z. V.↗
NASA NTRS2017

Quantitative EPMA Compositional Mapping of NWA 2995: Characterization, and Petrologic Interpretation of Mafic Clasts

We present the first fully quantitative compositional maps of lunar meteorite NWA 2995 using electron microprobe stage mapping, and compare selected clast mineralogy and chemistry. NWA 2995 is a feldspathic fragmental breccia containing numerous highland fine grained lithologies, including anorthosite, norite, olivine basalt, subophitic basalt, gabbro, KREEP-like basalt, granulitic and glassy impact melts, coarse-grained mineral fragments, Fe-Ni metal, and glassy matrix [1]. Chips of NWA 2995, representing these diverse materials, were analyzed by INAA and fused-bead electron-probe microanalysis (EPMA); comparison of analytical data suggests grouping of lunar meteorites NWA 2995, 2996, 3190, 4503, 5151, and 5152. The mean composition of NWA 2995 corresponds to a 2:1 mixture of feldspathic and mare material, with approximately 5% KREEP component [2]. Clast mineral chemistry and petrologic interpretation of paired stone NWA 2996 has been reported by Mercer et al. [3], and Gross et al. [4]. This study combines advances in quantitative EPMA compositional mapping and data analysis, as applied to selected mafic clasts in a polished section of NWA 2995, to investigate the origin of mafic lithic components and to demonstrate a procedural framework for petrologic analysis.

Carpenter, P. K.↗
NASA NTRS2017

Effects of Short-Term Thermal Alteration on Organic Matter in Experimentally-Heated Tagish Lake Observed by Raman Spectroscopy

Carbonaceous chondrites exhibit a wide range of aqueous and thermal alteration characteristics, while some are known to demonstrate mineralogical and petrologic evidence of having been thermally metamorphosed after aqueous alteration. This group of meteorites are commonly referred as thermally met-amorphosed carbonaceous chondrites (TMCCs), and their reflectance spectra show resemblances to that of C-type asteroids which typically have low albedos. This suggests that the surfaces of the C-type asteroids are also composed of both hydrous and dehydrated minerals, and thus TMCCs are among the best samples that can be studied in laboratory to reveal the true nature of the C-type asteroids. Although TMCCs are usually meteorites that were previously categorized as CI and CM chondrites, they are not strictly CI/CM because they exhibit isotopic and petrographic characteristics that significantly deviate from typical CI/CM. More appropriately, they are called CI-like and/or CM-like chondrites. Typical examples of TMCCs include the C2-ung/CM2TIV Belgica (B)-7904 and Yamato (Y) 86720. Thermal alteration is virtually complete in these meteorites and thus they are considered typical end-members of TMCCs exhibiting complete dehydration of matrix phyllosilicates. The estimated heating conditions are 10 to 103 days at 700 C to 1 to 100 hours at 890 C, i.e. short-term heating induced by impact and/or solar radiation. While the petrology and chemistry of TMCCs have only recently been extensively characterized, we have just begun to study in detail their organic contents. In order to understand how short-term heating affects the maturity of insoluble organic matter (IOM) in hydrous chondrites, we investigated experimentally-heated Tagish Lake meteorite using Raman spectroscopy, as the chemical and bulk oxygen isotopic compositions of the matrix of the carbonate (CO3)-poor lithology of the Tagish Lake (hereafter Tag) meteorite bears similarities to the TMCCs.

Chan, Q. H. S.↗
NASA NTRS2017

Oriented Mineral Transformation in a Dark Inclusion from the Leoville Meteorite

Dark inclusions (DIs) in chondrites and achondrites are dark gray to black fragments that include a wide variety of materials that have experienced very different petrologic histories. Based on the law of inclusions, they are rocks that accreted prior to and are older than their host meteorites and possibly rep-resent an earlier generation of material. The origin of these inclusions and their relationship to their host meteorites is not always clear. They are interesting in that they represent lithologies that experienced different parent body histories than their host meteorites and are either exotic components or originated from different regions of the meteorite parent body. In many cases, DIs in CV chondrites have been altered to greater degrees than their host meteorites suggesting pre accretionary alteration [e.g., 1,2,3]. There is debate concerning whether or not these DIs record an earlier era of aqueous alteration and subsequent thermal metamorphism, and how these processes may have also affected the host CV materials. The present study is a description of a dark inclusion found in the Leoville meteorite (specifically, thin section USNM 3535-1). This inclusion has some interesting features that have considerable relevance for this discussion.

Buchanan, P. C.↗
NASA NTRS2017

Distinct Chlorine Isotopic Reservoirs on Mars: Implications for Character, Extent and Relative Timing of Crustal Interaction with Mantle-Derived Magmas, Evolution of the Martian Atmosphere, and the Building Blocks of an Early Mars

The style, magnitude, timing, and mixing components involved in the interaction between mantle derived Martian magmas and Martian crust have long been a point of debate. Understanding this process is fundamental to deciphering the composition of the Martian crust and its interaction with the atmosphere, the compositional diversity and oxygen fugacity variations in the Martian mantle, the bulk composition of Mars and the materials from which it accreted, and the noble gas composition of Mars and the Sun. Recent studies of the chlorine isotopic composition of Martian meteorites imply that although the variation in delta (sup 37) Cl is limited (total range of approximately14 per mille), there appears to be distinct signatures for the Martian crust and mantle. However, there are potential issues with this interpretation. New Cl isotope data from the SAM (Sample Analysis at Mars) instrument on the Mars Science Lab indicate a very wide range of Cl isotopic compositions on the Martian surface. Recent measurements by [10] duplicated the results of [7,8], but placed them within the context of SAM surface data. In addition, Martian meteorite Chassigny contains trapped noble gases with isotopic ratios similar to solar abundance, and has long been considered a pristine, mantle derived sample. However, previous studies of apatite in Chassigny indicate that crustal fluids have interacted with regions interstitial to the cumulus olivine. The initial Cl isotope measurements of apatite in Chassigny suggest an addition of crustal component to this lithology, apparently contradicting the rare gas data. Here, we examine the Cl isotopic composition of multiple generations and textures of apatite in Chassigny to extricate the crustal and mantle components in this meteorite and to reveal the style and timing of the addition of crustal components to mantle-derived magmas. These data reveal distinct Martian Cl sources whose signatures have their origins linked to both the early Solar System and the evolving Martian atmosphere.

Shearer, C. K.↗
NASA NTRS2017

A Synthesis of Experimental Data Describing the Partitioning of Moderately Volatile Elements in Major Rock Forming Minerals: Implications for the Moon

Highly volatile elements [condensation temperatures below about 700 K] and water are highly informative about lunar bulk composition (hence origin), differentiation and magmatic evolution, and the role of impacts in delivering volatiles to the Moon. Fractionation of volatile elements compared to moderately volatile and refractory elements are informative about high-temperature conditions that operated in the proto-lunar disk. Existing data show clearly that the Moon is depleted in volatile elements compared to the bulk silicate Earth. For example, K/Th is ~400-700 in the Moon compared to 2800-3000 in Earth. A complicating factor is that the abundances of the highly volatile elements in major lunar lithologies vary by approximately two orders of magnitude. Perhaps most interesting, H2O is not correlated with the concentration of volatile elements, indicating a decoupling of highly volatile elements from the even more volatile H2O. We contend that this decoupling could be a significant tracer of processes operating during lunar formation, differentiation, and bombardment, and the combination of analyzing both volatile elements and water is likely to provide significant insight into lunar geochemical history. This variation and lack of correlation raises the question: what were the relative contributions of crystallization in the magma ocean, subsequent mantle overturn, production of secondary magmas, and addition of volatiles by large impacts in producing this apparently large range in volatile abundances? This current study will produce new partitioning data relevant to the role and distribution of the volatile and non-volatile, yet geochemically significant elements (Co, Ni, Zn, Se, Rb, Sr, Mo, Ag, Cd, In, Sb, Ce, Yb, Tl, Pb, Bi) during the thermal and magmatic evolution of the Moon.

Vander Kaaden, Kathleen E.↗
NASA NTRS2017

Investigating Evolved Compositions Around Wolf Crater

Wolf crater is an irregularly shaped, approximately 25 km crater in the south-central portion of Mare Nubium on the lunar nearside. While not previously identified as a lunar "red spot", Wolf crater was identified as a Th anomaly by Lawrence and coworkers. We have used data from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) to determine the area surrounding Wolf crater has composition more similar to highly evolved, non-mare volcanic structures than typical lunar crustal lithology. In this presentation, we will investigate the geomorphology and composition of the Wolf crater and discuss implications for the origin of the anomalous terrain.

Greenhagen, B. T.↗
NASA NTRS2017

Spinel-Bearing, Al-Rich Chrondrules in the Unequilibrated Ordinary Chondrite NWA7402

Several Al-rich chondrules (ARCs) have been discovered in the unequilibrated ordinary chondrite NWA7402. Two of these three ARCs are spinel-bearing. Here we have characterized these unusual chondrules with respect to their mineralogy and bulk compositions. These objects will be targets for future O and Mg isotope analysis. NWA7402 is clearly unequilibrated, with wide ranges of olivine compositions in chondrules (Fo99-Fo70, excluding rims). Chromium-oxide contents in olivine, and Raman organic spectral parameters support the classification of this meteorite as petrologic type 3.1 [1]. NWA7402 is similar to, and could be paired with NWA5717, in that they both possess light and dark lithologies.

Ross, D. K.↗
NASA NTRS2017

A Breccia of Ureilitic and C2 Carbonaceous Chondrite Materials from Almahata Sitta: Implications for the Regolith of Urelitic Asteroids

The Almahata Sitta (AhS) polymict ureilite is the first meteorite to originate from a spectrally classified asteroid (2008 TC3) [1-3], and provides an unprecedented opportunity to correlate properties of meteorites with those of their parent asteroid. AhS is also unique because its fragments comprise a wide variety of meteorite types. Of approximately140 stones studied to-date, ~70% are ureilites (carbon-rich ultramafic achondrites) and 30% are various types of chondrites [4,5]. None of these show contacts between ureilitic and chondritic lithologies. It has been inferred that 2008 TC3 was loosely aggregated, so that it disintegrated in the atmosphere and only its most coherent clasts fell as individual stones [1,3,5]. Understanding the structure and composition of this asteroid is critical for missions to sample asteroid surfaces. We are studying [6] the University of Khartoum collection of AhS [3] to test hypotheses for the nature of 2008 TC3. We describe a sample that consists of both ureilitic and chondritic materials.

Goodrich, C. A.↗
NASA NTRS2017

Oxygen, Magnesium, and Aluminum Isotopes in the Ivuna CAI: Re-Examining High-Temperature Fractionations in CI Chondrites

CI chondrites are thought to approximate the bulk solar system composition since they closely match the composition of the solar photosphere. Thus, chemical differences between a planetary object and the CI composition are interpreted to result from fractionations of a CI starting composition. This interpretation is often made despite the secondary mineralogy of CI chondrites, which resulted from low-T aqueous alteration on the parent asteroid(s). Prevalent alteration and the relatively large uncertainties in the photospheric abundances (approx. +/-5-10%) permit chemical fractionation of CI chondrites from the bulk solar system, if primary chondrules and/or CAIs have been altered beyond recognition. Isolated olivine and pyroxene grains that range from approx. 5 microns to several hundred microns have been reported in CI chondrites, and acid residues of Orgueil were found to contain refractory oxides with oxygen isotopic compositions matching CAIs. However, the only CAI found to be unambiguously preserved in a CI chondrite was identified in Ivuna. The Ivuna CAI's primary mineralogy, small size (approx.170 microns), and fine-grained igneous texture classify it as a compact type A. Aqueous alteration infiltrated large portions of the CAI, but other regions remain pristine. The major primary phases are melilite (Ak 14-36 ), grossmanite (up to 20.8 wt.% TiO 2 ), and spinel. Both melilite and grossmanite have igneous textures and zoning patterns. An accretionary rim consists primarily of olivine (Fa 2-17 ) and low-Ca pyroxene (Fs 2-10 ), which could be either surviving CI2 material or a third lithology.

Frank, D. R.↗
NASA NTRS2017

Asteroid Pond Mineralogy: View from a Cognate Clast in LL3 NWA 8330

All asteroids surfaces imaged at the cm-scale reveal the presence of pond deposits. These ponds are important because it is likely all asteroid sample return missions will sample them, being the safest (very flat) places to touch down. Therefore, it is essential to understand the differences between the material at the pond surfaces and the host asteroid. Fortunately, some fine-grained cognate lithologies in chondrites show sedimentary features indicating that they sample asteroid ponds.

Zolensky, M.↗