Atmospheric entry heating of micrometeorites at Earth and Mars: Implications for the survival of organics

The atmospheric entry heating of micrometeorites (MMs) can significantly alter their pre‐existing mineralogy, texture, and organic material. The degree of heating depends predominantly on the gravity and atmospheric density of the planet on which they fall. For particles falling on Earth, the alteration can be significant, leading to the destruction of much of the pre‐entry organics; however, the weaker gravity and thinner atmosphere of Mars enhance the survival of MMs and increase the fraction of particles that preserve organic material. This paper investigates the entry heating of MMs on the Earth and Mars in order to examine the MM population on each planet and give insights into the survival of extraterrestrial organic material. The results show that particles reaching the surface of Mars experience a lower peak temperature compared to Earth and, therefore, experience less evaporative mass loss. Of the particles which reach the surface, 68.2% remain unmelted on Mars compared to only 22.8% on Earth. Due to evaporative mass loss, unmelted particles that reach the surface of Earth are restricted to sizes <70 μm whereas particles >475 μm survive unmelted on Mars. Approximately 10% of particles experience temperatures below ~800 K, that is, the sublimation temperature of refractory organics found in MMs. On Earth, this fraction is significantly lower with less than 1% expected to remain below this temperature. Lower peak temperatures coupled with the larger sizes of particles surviving without significant heating on Mars suggest a much higher fraction of organic material surviving to the Martian surface.     

Organics preserved in anhydrous interplanetary dust particles: Pristine or not?

The chondritic‐porous subset of interplanetary dust particles (CP‐IDPs) are thought to have a cometary origin. Since the CP‐IDPs are anhydrous and unaltered by aqueous processes that are common to chondritic organic matter (OM), they represent the most pristine material of the solar system. However, the study of IDP OM might be hindered by their further alteration by flash heating during atmospheric entry, and we have limited understanding on how short‐term heating influences their organic content. In order to investigate this problem, five CP‐IDPs were studied for their OM contents, distributions, and isotopic compositions at the submicro‐ to nanoscale levels. The OM contained in the IDPs in this study spans the spectrum from primitive OM to that which has been significantly processed by heat. Similarities in the Raman D bands of the meteoritic and IDP OMs indicate that the overall gain in the sizes of crystalline domains in response to heating is similar. However, the Raman Γ_G values of the OM in all of the five IDPs clearly deviate from those of chondritic OM that had been processed during a prolonged episode of parent body heating. Such disparity suggests that the nonaromatic contents of the OM are different. Short duration heating further increases the H/C ratio and reduces the δ¹³C and δD values of the IDP OM. Our findings suggest that IDP OM contains a significant proportion of disordered C with low H content, such as sp² olefinic C=C, sp³ C–C, and/or carbonyl contents as bridging material.     

Nitrogen and noble gases in micrometeorites

Abstract— Micrometeorites (MMs) currently represent the largest steady‐state mass flux of extraterrestrial matter to Earth and may have delivered a significant fraction of volatile elements and organics to the Earth's surface. Nitrogen and noble gases contents and isotopic ratios have been measured in a suite of 17 micrometeorites recovered in Antarctica (sampled in blue ice at Cap Prudhomme) and Greenland (separated from cryoconite) that have experienced variable thermal metamorphism during atmospheric entry. MMs were pyrolized using a CO₂ laser and the released gases were analyzed for nitrogen and noble gas abundances and isotopic ratios by static mass spectrometry after specific purification. Noble gases are a mixture of cosmogenic, solar, atmospheric, and possibly chondritic components, with atmospheric being predominant in severely heated MMs. δ¹⁵N values vary between ?240 ± 62‰ and +206 ± 12‰, with most values being within the range of terrestrial and chondritic signatures, given the uncertainties. Crystalline MMs present very high noble gas contents up to two orders of magnitude higher than carbonaceous chondrite concentrations. In contrast, nitrogen contents between 4 ppm and 165 ppm are much lower than those of carbonaceous chondrites, evidencing either initially low N content in MMs and/or degradation of phases hosting nitrogen during atmospheric entry heating and terrestrial weathering. Assuming that the original N content of MMs was comparable to that of carbonaceous chondrites, the contribution of nitrogen delivery by these objects to the terrestrial environment would have been probably marginal from 3.8 Gyr ago to present but could have been significant (?10%) in the Hadean, and even predominant during the latest stages of terrestrial accretion.     

Concentration and variability of the AIB amino acid in polar micrometeorites: Implications for the exogenous delivery of amino acids to the primitive Earth

Abstract— Micrometeorites (MMs) are extraterrestrial particles ranging in size from 25 μm to 2 mm that survive atmospheric entry and are collected on the Earth's surface. They represent the largest mass flux (MF) of extraterrestrial material (30,000 ± 20,000 t/yr) to the present‐day Earth. Studies of large collections of MMs suggest that about 20% have not been heated to high temperatures and that they contain organic carbon. Since non‐protein amino acids have been found in some carbonaceous meteorites, they might also be found in unmelted MMs. However, previous searches for amino acids in MMs were inconclusive. We combined a new extraction method for amino acids with a highly sensitive analytical method to detect and quantitate amino acids in MMs collected at the South Pole. We found the non‐protein amino acid α‐amino isobutyric acid (AIB) in one of our samples. The non‐detection of this amino acid in the other samples analyzed suggests that there are amino acid‐containing and amino acid‐free MMs, with ?14% of the MMs containing AIB. Since the MF of MMs is much higher than that of carbonaceous chondrites (CMs), amino acids in these small particles would represent an important source of exogenous delivery of organic molecules. Therefore, the results are discussed on the basis of their implications for astrobiology.     

Micrometeorites and Their Implications for Meteors

Micrometeorites (MMs) are extraterrestrial dust particles, in the size range 25–400 μm, recovered from the Earth’s surface. They have experienced a wide range of heating during atmospheric entry from completely molten spherules to particles heated to temperatures <300°C that have retained low temperature minerals. The majority of MMs have mineralogies, textures and compositions that strongly resemble components from chondritic meteorites suggesting these correspond to sporadic, low geocentric velocity meteors. Changes in MMs due to entry heating, however, have implications for meteoric processes in general that may allow the observed behaviour of meteors to be directly related to the material properties of their meteoroids.     

A nuclear microprobe study of the distribution and concentration of carbon and nitrogen in Murchison and Tagish Lake meteorites,Antarctic micrometeorites,and IDPs: Implications for astrobiology

Abstract— Using a nuclear microprobe, we measured the carbon and nitrogen concentrations and distributions in several interplanetary dust particles (IDPs) and Antarctic micrometeorites (MMs), and compared them to 2 carbonaceous chondrites: Tagish Lake and Murchison. We observed that IDPs are richest in both elements. All the MMs studied contain carbon, and all but the coarse‐grained and 1 melted MM contained nitrogen. We also observed a correlation in the distribution of carbon and nitrogen, suggesting that they may be held in an organic material. The implications for astrobiology of these results are discussed, as small extraterrestrial particles could have contributed to the origin of life on Earth by delivering important quantities of these 2 bio‐elements to the Earth's surface and their gas counterparts, CO₂ and N₂, to the early atmosphere.     

Combined noble gas and trace element measurements on individual stratospheric interplanetary dust particles

Abstract— The trace element compositions and noble gas contents of 32 individual interplanetary dust particles (IDPs) collected in the Earth's stratosphere were measured. Trace element compositions are generally similar to CI meteorites, with occasional depletions in Zn/Fe with respect to CI. Noble gases were detected in all but one of the IDPs. Noble gas elemental compositions are consistent with the presence of fractionated solar wind. A rough correlation between surface‐normalized He abundances and Zn/Fe ratios is observed; Zn‐poor particles generally have lower He contents than the other IDPs. This suggests that both elements were lost by frictional heating during atmospheric entry and confirms the view that Zn can serve as an entry‐heating indicator in IDPs.     

Dynamic pyrometamorphism during atmospheric entry of large (˜10 micron) pyrrhotite fragments from cluster IDPs

Abstract— Petrological changes in Ni‐free and low‐Ni pyrrhotite, and much less in pentlandite, during atmospheric entry flash‐heating of the sulfide IDPs L2005E40, L2005C39, and L2006A28 support 1) ferrous sulfide oxidation with vacancy formation and Fe³⁺ ordering; and 2) Fe‐oxide formation and sulfur vapor loss through abundant vesicles. Melting of metastable chondritic aggregate materials at the IDP surface has occurred. All changes, e.g., formation of a continuous maghémite rim, proceeded as solid‐state reactions at a peak heating temperature of ?700 °C. This temperature in combination with particle size and density suggest a ?10 km/s^?1 entry velocity. The IDPs probably belonged to cluster IDPs that entered the atmosphere with near‐Earth or Earth‐crossing asteroid velocities. They could be debris from extinct or dormant comet nuclei, which is consistent with shock comminution of pyrrhotite in these IDPs.     

Tin in a chondritic interplanetary dust particle

Abstract— Submicron platey Sn-rich grains are present in chondritic porous interplanetary dust particle (IDP) W7029^*A and it is the second occurrence of a tin mineral in a stratospheric micrometeorite. Selected Area Electron Diffraction data for the Snrich grains match with Sn₂O₃ and Sn₃O₄. The oxide(s) may have formed in the solar nebula when tin metal catalytically supported reduction of CO or during flash heating on atmospheric entry of the IDP. The presence of tin is consistent with enrichments for other volatile trace elements in chondritic IDPs and may signal an emerging trend towards non-chondritic volatile element abundances in chondritic IDPs. The observation confirms small-scale mineralogical heterogeneity in fine-grained chondritic porous interplanetary dust.     

Reflectance spectroscopy of interplanetary dust particles

Abstract Reflectance spectra were collected from chondritic interplanetary dust particles (IDPs), a polar micrometeorite, Allende (CV3) meteorite matrix, and mineral standards using a microscope spectrophotometer. Data were acquired over the 380–1100 nm wavelength range in darkfield mode using a halogen light source, particle aperturing diaphrams, and photomultiplier tube (PMT) detectors. Spectra collected from titanium oxide (Ti₄O₇), magnetite (Fe₃O₄), and Allende matrix establish that it is possible to measure indigenous reflectivities of micrometer-sized (>5 μm in diameter) particles over the visible (VIS) wavelength range 450–800 nm. Below 450 nm, small particle effects cause a fall-off in signal into the ultraviolet (UV). Near-infrared (IR) spectra collected from olivine and pyroxene standards suggest that the ～1 μm absorption features of Fe-bearing silicates in IDPs can be detected using microscope spectrophotometry. Chondritic IDPs are dark objects (<15% reflectivity) over the VIS 450–800 nm range. Large (>1 μm in diameter) embedded and adhering single mineral grains make IDPs significantly brighter, while surficial magnetite formed by frictional heating during atmospheric entry makes them darker. Most chondritic smooth (CS) IDPs, dominated by hydrated layer silicates, exhibit generally flat spectra with slight fall-off towards 800 nm, which is similar to type CI and CM meteorites and main-belt C-type asteroids. Most chondritic porous (CP) IDPs, dominated by anhydrous silicates (pyroxene and olivine), exhibit generally flat spectra with a slight rise towards 800 nm, which is similar to outer P and D asteroids. The most C-rich CP IDPs rise steeply towards 800 nm with a redness comparable to that of the outer asteroid object Pholus (Binzel, 1992). Chondritic porous IDPs are the first identified class of meteoritic materials exhibiting spectral reflectivities (between 450 and 800 nm) similar to those of P and D asteroids. Although large mineral grains, secondary magnetite, and small particle effects complicate interpretation of IDP reflectance spectra, microscope spectrophotometry appears to offer a rapid, nondestructive technique for probing the mineralogy of IDPs, comparing them with meteorites, investigating their parent body origins, and identifying IDPs that may have been strongly heated during atmospheric entry.     

Fine‐grained precursors dominate the micrometeorite flux

Abstract– We optically classified 5682 micrometeorites (MMs) from the 2000 South Pole collection into textural classes, imaged 2458 of these MMs with a scanning electron microscope, and made 200 elemental and eight isotopic measurements on those with unusual textures or relict phases. As textures provide information on both degree of heating and composition of MMs, we developed textural sequences that illustrate how fine‐grained, coarse‐grained, and single mineral MMs change with increased heating. We used this information to determine the percentage of matrix dominated to mineral dominated precursor materials (precursors) that produced the MMs. We find that at least 75% of the MMs in the collection derived from fine‐grained precursors with compositions similar to CI and CM meteorites and consistent with dynamical models that indicate 85% of the mass influx of small particles to Earth comes from Jupiter family comets. A lower limit for ordinary chondrites is estimated at 2–8% based on MMs that contain Na‐bearing plagioclase relicts. Less than 1% of the MMs have achondritic compositions, CAI components, or recognizable chondrules. Single mineral MMs often have magnetite zones around their peripheries. We measured their isotopic compositions to determine if the magnetite zones demarcate the volume affected by atmospheric exchange during entry heating. Because we see little gradient in isotopic composition in the olivines, we conclude that the magnetites are a visual marker that allows us to select and analyze areas not affected by atmospheric exchange. Similar magnetite zones are seen in some olivine and pyroxene relict grains contained within MMs.     

Noble gas space exposure ages of individual interplanetary dust particles

Abstract— The He, Ne, and Ar compositions of 32 individual interplanetary dust particles (IDPs) were measured using low‐blank laser probe gas extraction. These measurements reveal definitive evidence of space exposure. The Ne and Ar isotopic compositions in the IDPs are primarily a mixture between solar wind (SW) and an isotopically heavier component dubbed “fractionated solar” (FS), which could be implantation‐fractionated solar wind or a distinct component of the solar corpuscular radiation previously identified as solar energetic particles (SEP). Space exposure ages based on the Ar content of individual IDPs are estimated for a subset of the grains that appear to have escaped significant volatile losses during atmosphere entry. Although model‐dependent, most of the particles in this subset have ages that are roughly consistent with origin in the asteroid belt. A short (<1000 years) space exposure age is inferred for one particle, which is suggestive of cometary origin. Among the subset of grains that show some evidence for relatively high atmospheric entry heating, two possess elevated ²¹Ne/²²Ne ratios generated by extended exposure to solar and galactic cosmic rays. The inferred cosmic ray exposure ages of these particles exceeds 10⁷ years, which tends to rule out origin in the asteroid belt. A favorable possibility is that these ²¹Ne‐rich IDPs previously resided on a relatively stable regolith of an Edgeworth‐Kuiper belt or Oort cloud body and were introduced into the inner solar system by cometary activity. These results demonstrate the utility of noble gas measurements in constraining models for the origins of interplanetary dust particles.     

Infrared spectroscopy of interplanetary dust in the laboratory

Diagnostic infrared spectra of individual nanogram-sized interplanetary dust particles (IDPs) collected in the Earth's stratosphere have been obtained. A mount containing three crushed “chondritic” IDPs shows features near 1000 and 500 cm^?1, suggestive of crystalline pyroxene, and different from those of crystalline olivine, amorphous olivine, or meteoritic clay minerals. The structural diversity of chondritic IDPs and possible effects of atmospheric heating must be considered when comparing this spectrum with astrophysical spectra of interplanetary and cometary dust. Transmission electron microscope (TEM) and infrared observations are also reported on one member of the rare subset of IDPs which resemble hydrated carbonaceous chondrite matrix material. The infrared spectrum of this particle between 4000 and 400 cm^?1 closely matches that of the C2 meteorite Murchison. TEM observations suggest that this class of particles might serve as a thermometer for the process of heating on atmospheric entry.     

The entry heating and abundances of basaltic micrometeorites

Basaltic micrometeorites (MMs) derived from HED‐like parent bodies have been found among particles collected from the Antarctic and from Arctic glaciers and are to date the only achondritic particles reported among cosmic dust. The majority of Antarctic basaltic particles are completely melted cosmic spherules with only one unmelted particle recognized from the region. This paper investigates the entry heating of basaltic MMs in order to predict the relative abundances of unmelted to melted basaltic particles and to evaluate how mineralogical differences in precursor materials influence the final products of atmospheric entry collected on the Earth's surface. Thermodynamic modeling is used to simulate the melting behavior of particles with compositions corresponding to eucrites, diogenites, and ordinary chondrites in order to evaluate degree of partial melting and to make a comparison between the behavior of chondritic particles that dominate the terrestrial dust flux and basaltic micrometeroids. The results of 120,000 simulations were compiled to predict relative abundances and indicate that the phase relations of precursor materials are crucial in determining the relative abundances of particle types. Diogenite and ordinary chondrite materials exhibit similar behavior, although diogenite precursors are more likely to form cosmic spherules under similar entry parameters. Eucrite particles, however, are much more likely to melt due to their lower liquidus temperatures and small temperature interval of partial melting. Eucrite MMs, therefore, usually form completely molten cosmic spherules except at particle diameters <100 μm. The low abundance of unmelted basaltic MMs compared with spherules, if statistically valid, is also shown to be inconsistent with a low velocity population (12 km s^?1) and is more compatible with higher velocities which may suggest a near‐Earth asteroid source dominates the current dust production of basaltic MMs.     

X‐ray computed tomography: Morphological and porosity characterization of giant Antarctic micrometeorites

Giant micrometeorites (MMs; 400–2000 µm) are exceedingly rare and scientifically valuable. Three‐dimensional nondestructive characterization by X‐ray computed tomography (X‐CT) provides information on the petrography and thus petrogenesis of MMs and serves as a guide to maximize subsequent multi‐analytical studies on such precious planetary materials. Here, we discuss the results obtained by X‐CT on 22 giant MMs and the classification based on their 3‐D density contrast images. Scoriaceous and unmelted MMs have distinct porosity ranges (10–40 vol% versus 0–25 vol%, respectively). We observe a porosity variation inside scoriaceous MMs, which allows their atmospheric entry flight history to be resolved. For the first time, spinning entry is explicitly demonstrated for four partially melted MMs. Furthermore, we are able to resolve the thermal gradient in a single particle, based on porosity variation (seen as a progressive increase in pore abundance and size with higher peak temperatures). Moreover, we explore parent body alteration through the 3‐D analysis of pores distribution, showing that shock fabrics are either absent or weakly developed in our data set. Finally, owing to the detection of pseudomorphic chondrules, we estimate that the intensively aqueously altered C1 or CI‐like material could represent 18% of the MM flux at this size fraction (400–1000 µm).     

The origins of I‐type spherules and the atmospheric entry of iron micrometeoroids

The Earth's extraterrestrial dust flux includes a wide variety of dust particles that include FeNi metallic grains. During their atmospheric entry iron micrometeoroids melt and oxidize to form cosmic spherules termed I‐type spherules. These particles are chemically resistant and readily collected by magnetic separation and are thus the most likely micrometeorites to be recovered from modern and ancient sediments. Understanding their behavior during atmospheric entry is crucial in constraining their abundance relative to other particle types and the nature of the zodiacal dust population at 1 AU. This article presents numerical simulations of the atmospheric entry heating of iron meteoroids to investigate the abundance and nature of these materials. The results indicate that iron micrometeoroids experience peak temperatures 300–800 K higher than silicate particles explaining the rarity of unmelted iron particles which can only be present at sizes of <50 μm. The lower evaporation rates of liquid iron oxide leads to greater survival of iron particles compared with silicates, which enhances their abundance among micrometeorites by a factor of 2. The abundance of I‐types is shown to be broadly consistent with the abundance and size of metal in ordinary chondrites and the current day flux of ordinary chondrite‐derived MMs arriving at Earth. Furthermore, carbonaceous asteroids and cometary dust are suggested to make negligible contributions to the I‐type spherule flux. Events involving such objects, therefore, cannot be recognized from I‐type spherule abundances in the geological record.     

The smallest comet 81P/Wild 2 dust dances around the CI composition

The bulbous Stardust track #80 (C2092,3,80,0,0) is a huge cavity. Allocations C2092,2,80,46,1 nearest the entry hole and C2092,2,80,47,6 about 0.8 mm beneath the entry hole provide evidence of highly chaotic conditions during capture. They are dominated by nonvesicular low‐Mg silica glass instead of highly vesicular glass found deeper into this track which is consistent with the escape of magnesiosilica vapors generated from the smallest comet grains. The survival of delicate (Mg,Al,Ca)‐bearing silica glass structures is unique to the entry hole. Both allocations show a dearth of surviving comet dust except for a small enstatite, a low‐Ca hypersthene grain, and a Ti‐oxide fragment. Finding scattered TiO₂ fragments in the silica glass could support, but not prove, TiO₂ grain fragmentation during hypervelocity capture. The here reported dearth in mineral species is in marked contrast to the wealth of surviving silicate and oxide minerals deeper into the bulb. Both allocations show Fe‐Ni‐S nanograins dispersed throughout the low‐Mg silica glass matrix. It is noted that neither comet Halley nor Wild 2 had a CI bulk composition for the smallest grains. Using the analogs of interplanetary dust particles (IDPs) and cluster IDPs it is argued that a CI chondritic composition requires the mixing of nonchondritic components in the appropriate proportions. So far, the fine‐grained Wild 2 dust is biased toward nonchondritic ferromagnesiosilica materials and lacking contributions of nonchondritic components with Mg‐Fe‐Ni‐S[Si‐O] compositions. To be specific, “Where are the GEMS”? The GEMS look‐alike found in this study suggests that evidence of GEMS in comet Wild 2 may still be found in the Stardust glass.     

Cosmogenic production rates and recoil loss effects in micrometeorites and interplanetary dust particles

We present a purely physical model to determine cosmogenic production rates for noble gases and radionuclides in micrometeorites (MMs) and interplanetary dust particles (IDPs) by solar cosmic‐rays (SCR) and galactic cosmic‐rays (GCR) fully considering recoil loss effects. Our model is based on various nuclear model codes to calculate recoil cross sections, recoil ranges, and finally the percentages of the cosmogenic nuclides that are lost as a function of grain size, chemical composition of the grain, and the spectral distribution of the projectiles. The main advantage of our new model compared with earlier approaches is that we consider the entire SCR particle spectrum up to 240 MeV and not only single energy points. Recoil losses for GCR‐produced nuclides are assumed to be equal to recoil losses for SCR‐produced nuclides. Combining the model predictions with Poynting‐Robertson orbital lifetimes, we calculate cosmic‐ray exposure ages for recently studied MMs, cosmic spherules, and IDPs. The ages for MMs and the cosmic‐spherule are in the range <2.2–233 Ma, which corresponds, according to the Poynting‐Robertson drag, to orbital distances in the range 4.0–34 AU. For two IDPs, we determine exposure ages of longer than 900 Ma, which corresponds to orbital distances larger than 150 AU. The orbital distance in the range 4–6 AU for one MM and the cosmic spherule indicate an origin either in the asteroid belt or release from comets coming either from the Kuiper Belt or the Oort Cloud. Three of the studied MMs have orbital distances in the range 23–34 AU, clearly indicating a cometary origin, either from short‐period comets from the Kuiper Belt or from the Oort Cloud. The two IDPs have orbital distances of more than 150 AU, indicating an origin from Oort Cloud comets.     

Heating effects of the matrix of experimentally shocked Murchison CM chondrite: Comparison with micrometeorites

Abstract— Micrometeorites have been significantly altered or melted by heating, which has been mainly ascribed to aerodynamic drag during atmospheric entry. However, if a major fraction of micrometeorites are produced by impacts on porous asteroids, they may have experienced shock heating before contact with the Earth's atmosphere (Tomeoka et al. 2003). A transmission electron microscope (TEM) study of the matrix of Murchison CM chondrite experimentally shocked at pressures of 10–49 GPa shows that its mineralogy and texture change dramatically, mainly due to shock heating, with the progressive shock pressures. Tochilinite is completely decomposed to an amorphous material at 10 GPa. Fe‐Mg serpentine is partially decomposed and decreases in amount with increasing pressure from 10 to 30 GPa and is completely decomposed at 36 GPa. At 49 GPa, the matrix is extensively melted and consists mostly of aggregates of equigranular grains of Fe‐rich olivine and less abundant low‐Ca pyroxene embedded in Si‐rich glass. The mineralogy and texture of the shocked samples are similar to those of some types of micrometeorites. In particular, the samples shocked at 10 and 21 GPa are similar to the phyllosilicate (serpentine)‐rich micrometeorites, and the sample shocked at 49 GPa is similar to the olivine‐rich micrometeorites. The shock heating effects also resemble the effects of pulse‐heating experiments on the CI and CM chondrite matrices that were conducted to simulate atmospheric entry heating. We suggest that micrometeorites derived from porous asteroids are likely to go through both shock and atmospheric‐entry heating processes.     

In situ 3‐D mapping of pore structures and hollow grains of interplanetary dust particles with phase contrast X‐ray nanotomography

Unlocking the 3‐D structure and properties of intact chondritic porous interplanetary dust particles (IDPs) in nanoscale detail is challenging, which is also complicated by atmospheric entry heating, but is important for advancing our understanding of the formation and origins of IDPs and planetary bodies as well as dust and ice agglomeration in the outer protoplanetary disk. Here, we show that indigenous pores, pristine grains, and thermal alteration products throughout intact particles can be noninvasively visualized and distinguished morphologically and microstructurally in 3‐D detail down to ~10 nm by exploiting phase contrast X‐ray nanotomography. We have uncovered the surprisingly intricate, submicron, and nanoscale pore structures of a ~10‐μm‐long porous IDP, consisting of two types of voids that are interconnected in 3‐D space. One is morphologically primitive and mostly submicron‐sized intergranular voids that are ubiquitous; the other is morphologically advanced and well‐defined intragranular nanoholes that run through the approximate centers of ~0.3 μm or lower submicron hollow grains. The distinct hollow grains exhibit complex 3‐D morphologies but in 2‐D projections resemble typical organic hollow globules observed by transmission electron microscopy. The particle, with its outer region characterized by rough vesicular structures due to thermal alteration, has turned out to be an inherently fragile and intricately submicron‐ and nanoporous aggregate of the sub‐μm grains or grain clumps that are delicately bound together frequently with little grain‐to‐grain contact in 3‐D space.