Pyroxenes microstructure in comet 81P/Wild 2 terminal Stardust particles

Abstract— We report the examination by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) of four Stardust terminal particles extracted from two neighboring tracks (32 an 69). The particles are made of well‐preserved crystalline grains dominated by low‐Ca pyroxene ranging from nearly pure enstatite to pigeonite. Some olivine grains are also found, in chemical equilibrium with the surrounding pyroxenes. Various microstructures are observed, as a function of the composition of the grains. They include (100)‐twinned pigeonite, clino/ortho domains in enstatite and exsolution in a Ca‐rich grain. The microstructures are mostly consistent with a formation by cooling from high‐temperature phases, which could be associated to igneous processes. Some dislocations in glide configuration are also present, probably attesting for small intensity shocks. Possible effects of the rapid heating/cooling stage and thermal shock associated to the collect are discussed. It appears that most of the microstructural features reported here are plausibly pristine.     

A refractory inclusion returned by Stardust from comet 81P/Wild 2

Abstract— Among the samples returned from comet 81P/Wild 2 by the Stardust spacecraft is a suite of particles from one impact track (Track 25) that are Ca‐, Al‐rich and FeO‐free. We studied three particles from this track that range in size from 5.3 × 3.2 μ to 15 × 10 μ. Scanning and transmission electron microscopy show that they consist of very fine‐grained (typically from ?0.5 to ?2 μ) Al‐rich, Ti‐bearing and Ti‐free clinopyroxene, Mg‐Al spinel and anorthite, with trace amounts of fine perovskite, FeNi metal and osbornite (TiN) grains. In addition to these phases, the terminal particle, named “Inti”, also contains melilite. All of these phases, with the exception of osbornite, are common in refractory inclusions and are predicted to condense at high temperature from a gas of solar composition. Osbornite, though very rare, has also been found in meteoritic refractory inclusions, and could have formed in a region of the nebula where carbon became enriched relative to oxygen compared to solar composition. Compositions of Ti‐pyroxene in Inti are similar, but not identical, to those of fassaite from Allende inclusions. Electron energy loss spectroscopy shows that Ti‐rich pyroxene in Inti has Ti³⁺/Ti⁴⁺within the range of typical meteoritic fassaite, consistent with formation under reducing conditions comparable to those of a system of solar composition. Inti is ¹⁶O‐rich, with δ₁₈O?δ¹⁷O?‐40%0, like unaltered phases in refractory inclusions and refractory IDPs. With grain sizes, mineralogy, mineral chemistry, and an oxygen isotopic composition like those of refractory inclusions, we conclude that Inti is a refractory inclusion that formed in the inner solar nebula. Identification of a particle that formed in the inner solar system among the comet samples demonstrates that there was transport of materials from the inner to the outer nebula, probably either in a bipolar outflow or by turbulence.     

Complex aromatic hydrocarbons in Stardust samples collected from comet 81P/Wild 2

Abstract– The successful return of the Stardust spacecraft provides a unique opportunity to investigate the nature and distribution of organic matter in cometary dust particles collected from comet 81P/Wild 2. Analysis of individual cometary impact tracks in silica aerogel using the technique of two‐step laser mass spectrometry demonstrates the presence of complex aromatic organic matter. While concerns remain as to the organic purity of the aerogel collection medium and the thermal effects associated with hypervelocity capture, the majority of the observed organic species appear indigenous to the impacting particles and are hence of cometary origin. While the aromatic fraction of the total organic matter present is believed to be small, it is notable in that it appears to be N rich. Spectral analysis in combination with instrumental detection sensitivies suggest that N is incorporated predominantly in the form of aromatic nitriles (R–C≡N). While organic species in the Stardust samples do share some similarities with those present in the matrices of carbonaceous chondrites, the closest match is found with stratospherically collected interplanetary dust particles. These findings are consistent with the notion that a fraction of interplanetary dust is of cometary origin. The presence of complex organic N containing species in comets has astrobiological implications as comets are likely to have contributed to the prebiotic chemical inventory of both the Earth and Mars.     

Helium and neon in comet 81P/Wild 2 samples from the NASA Stardust mission

Helium and neon distributions are reported for a variety of Stardust comet 81P/Wild 2 samples, including particle tracks and terminal particles, cell surface and subsurface slices from the comet coma and interstellar particle collection trays, and numerous small aerogel blocks extracted from comet cells C2044 and C2086. Discussions and conclusions in several abstracts published during the course of the investigation are included, along with the relevant data. Measured isotope ratios span a broad range, implying a similar range for noble gas carriers in the Wild 2 coma. The meteoritic phase Q‐²⁰Ne/²²Ne ratio was observed in several samples. Some of these, and others, exhibit ²¹Ne excesses too large for attribution to spallation by galactic cosmic ray irradiation, suggesting exposure to a solar proton flux greatly enhanced above current levels in an early near‐Sun environment. Still others display evidence for a solar wind component, particularly one C2086 block with large abundances of isotopically solar‐like helium and neon. Eighty‐nine small aerogel samples were cut from depths up to several millimeters below the cell C2044 surface and several millimeters away from the axis of major track T41. A fraction of these yielded measurable and variable helium and neon abundances and isotope ratios, although none contained visible tracks or carrier particle fragments and their locations were beyond estimated penetration ranges for small particles or ions incident on the cell surface, or for lateral ejecta from T41. Finding plausible emplacement mechanisms and sources for these gases is a significant challenge raised by this study.     

A cometary aggregate interplanetary dust particle as an analog for comet Wild 2 grain chemistry preserved in silica‐rich Stardust glass

Abstract— Many of the nanometer‐scale grains from comet 81P/Wild 2 did not survive hypervelocity capture. Instead, they melted and interacted with silica melt derived from the aerogel used by the Stardust mission. Their petrological properties were completely modified, but their bulk chemistry was preserved in the chemical signatures of mostly vesicular Si‐rich glass with its typical Fe‐Ni‐S compound inclusions. Chondritic aggregate IDP L2011A9 that experienced atmospheric pre‐entry thermal modification was selected as an analog to investigate these Wild 2 chemical signatures. The chemical, petrologic, and mineralogical properties of the individual constituents in this aggregate IDP are presented and used to match the chemical signatures of these Wild 2 grains. Mixing of comet material and pure silica, which is used in a diagram that recognizes this mixing behavior, is used to constrain the probable petrologic and minerals that caused the Wild 2 signatures. The Wild 2 nanometer‐scale grain signatures in Si‐rich glass allocations from three different deceleration tracks resembled mixtures of ultrafine‐grained principal components and dense agglomerate‐like material, Mg‐rich silicates (<500 nm) and Fe,Ni‐sulfides (<100 nm), and Si‐rich amorphous material. Dust resembling the mixed matrix of common chondritic aggregate IDPs was present in Jupiter‐family comet Wild 2.     

Assessment and control of organic and other contaminants associated with the Stardust sample return from comet 81P/Wild 2

Abstract– Numerous potential sources of organic contaminants could have greatly complicated the interpretation of the organic portions of the samples returned from comet 81P/Wild 2 by the Stardust spacecraft. Measures were taken to control and assess potential organic (and other) contaminants during the design, construction, and flight of the spacecraft, and during and after recovery of the sample return capsule. Studies of controls and the returned samples suggest that many of these potential sources did not contribute any significant material to the collectors. In particular, contamination from soils at the recovery site and materials associated with the ablation of the heatshield do not appear to be significant problems. The largest source of concern is associated with the C present in the original aerogel. The relative abundance of this carbon can vary between aerogel tiles and even within individual tiles. This C was fortunately not distributed among a complex mixture of organics, but was instead largely present in a few simple forms (mostly as Si‐CH₃ groups). In most cases, the signature of returned cometary organics can be readily distinguished from contaminants through their different compositions, nonterrestrial isotopic ratios, and/or association with other cometary materials. However, some conversion of the carbon indigenous to the flight aerogel appears to have happened during particle impact, and some open issues remain regarding how this C may be processed into new forms during the hypervelocity impact collection of the comet dust.     

At the interface of silica glass and compressed silica aerogel in Stardust track 10: Comet Wild 2 is not a goldmine

In Stardust tracks C2044,0,38, C2044,0,39, and C2044,0,42 (Brennan et al. 2007 ) and Stardust track 10 (this work) gold is present in excess of its cosmochemical abundance. Ultra‐thin sections of allocation FC6,0,10,0,26 (track 10) show a somewhat wavy, compressed silica aerogel/silica glass interface which challenges exact location identification, i.e., silica glass, compressed silica aerogel, or areas of overlap. In addition to domains of pure silica ranging from SiO₂ to SiO₃ glass, there is MgO‐rich silica glass with a deep metastable composition, MgO = 14 ± 6 wt%, due to assimilation of Wild 2 Mg‐silicate matter in silica melt. This magnesiosilica composition formed when temperatures during hypervelocity capture reached >2000 °C followed by ultrafast quenching of the magnesiosilica melt when it came into contact with compressed aerogel at ~155 °C. The compressed silica aerogel in track 10 has a continuous Au background as result of the melting point depression of gold particles <5 nm that showed liquid‐like behavior. Larger gold particles are scattered found throughout the silica aerogel matrix and in aggregates up to ~50 nm in size. No gold is found in MgO‐rich silica glass. Gold in track 10 is present at the silica aerogel/silica glass interface. In the other tracks gold was likely near‐surface contamination possibly from an autoclave used in processing of these particular aerogel tiles. So far gold contamination is documented in these four different tracks. Whether they are the only tiles with gold present in excess of its cosmochemical abundance or whether more tiles will show excess gold abundances is unknown.     

Three‐dimensional shapes and Fe contents of Stardust impact tracks: A track formation model and estimation of comet Wild 2 coma dust particle densities

Abstract– We investigated three‐dimensional structures of comet Wild 2 coma particle impact tracks using synchrotron radiation (SR) X‐ray microtomography at SPring‐8 to elucidate the nature of comet Wild 2 coma dust particles captured in aerogel by understanding the capture process. All tracks have a similar entrance morphology, indicating a common track formation process near the entrance by impact shock propagation irrespective of impactor materials. Distributions of elements along the tracks were simultaneously measured using SR‐XRF. Iron is distributed throughout the tracks, but it tends to concentrate in the terminal grains and at the bottoms of bulbs. Based on these results, we propose an impact track formation process. We estimate the densities of cometary dust particles based on the hypothesis that the kinetic energy of impacting dust particles is proportional to the track volume. The density of 148 cometary dust particles we investigated ranges from 0.80 to 5.96 g cm^?3 with an average of 1.01 (±0.25) g cm^?3. Moreover, we suggest that less fragile crystalline particles account for approximately 5 vol% (20 wt%) of impacting particles. This value of crystalline particles corresponds to that of chondrules and CAIs, which were transported from the inner region of the solar system to the outer comet‐forming region. Our results also suggest the presence of volatile components, such as organic material and perhaps ice, in some bulbous tracks (type‐C).     

The size distributions of nanoscale Fe‐Ni‐S droplets in Stardust melted grains from comet 81P/Wild 2

Abstract– To constrain the effects of capture modification processes, the size distribution of nanoscale refractory Fe‐Ni‐S inclusions (“droplets”) was measured in five allocations extracted from throughout the depth of Stardust Track 35. The Fe/S ratio has been previously shown to increase significantly with penetration depth in this track, suggesting increasing capture‐related modification along the track. Astronomical image analysis tools were employed to measure the sizes of more than 8000 droplets from TEM images, and completeness simulations were used to correct the distribution for detection bias as a function of radius. The size distribution characteristics are found to be similar within independent regions of individual allocations, demonstrating uniformity within grains. The size distribution of the Fe‐Ni‐S droplets in each allocation is dominated by a mode near 11 nm, but is coarse‐skewed and leptokurtic with a mean of ～17 nm and a standard deviation of ～9 nm. The size distribution characteristics do not vary systematically with penetration depth, despite the strong trend in bulk Fe/S ratio. This suggests that the capture modification process is not primarily responsible for producing the morphology of these nanoscale droplets. The Stardust Track 35 droplet size distribution indicates slightly smaller sizes, but otherwise resembles those in carbonaceous chondrite Acfer 094, and chondritic porous interplanetary dust particles that escaped nebular annealing of sulfides. The size distribution of metal‐sulfide beads in Stardust’s quenched melted‐grain emulsions appears to be inherited from the size distribution of unmelted sulfide mineral grains in comet‐dust particles of chondritic character.     

Iron oxides in comet 81P/Wild 2

Abstract– We have used synchrotron Fe‐XANES, XRS, microRaman, and SEM‐TEM analyses of Stardust track 41 slice and track 121 terminal area slices to identify Fe oxide (magnetite‐hematite and amorphous oxide), Fe‐Ti oxide, and V‐rich chromite (Fe‐Cr‐V‐Ti‐Mn oxide) grains ranging in size from 200 nm to ～10 μm. They co‐exist with relict FeNi metal. Both Fe‐XANES and microRaman analyses suggest that the FeNi metal and magnetite (Fe₂O₃FeO) also contain some hematite (Fe₂O₃). The FeNi has been partially oxidized (probably during capture), but on the basis of our experimental work with a light‐gas gun and microRaman analyses, we believe that some of the magnetite‐hematite mixtures may have originated on Wild 2. The terminal samples from track 121 also contain traces of sulfide and Mg‐rich silicate minerals. Our results show an unequilibrated mixture of reduced and oxidized Fe‐bearing minerals in the Wild 2 samples in an analogous way to mineral assemblages seen in carbonaceous chondrites and interplanetary dust particles. The samples contain some evidence for terrestrial contamination, for example, occasional Zn‐bearing grains and amorphous Fe oxide in track 121 for which evidence of a cometary origin is lacking.     

An igneous fragment from cluster IDP L2011#21: An analog for the source of pyrrhotite and taenite in comet 81P/Wild 2 captured in Stardust aerogel

The silica glass extracted from the bulbous parts of Stardust tracks is riddled by electron‐opaque nanograins with compositions that are mostly between pyrrhotite and metallic iron with many fewer nanograins having a Fe‐Ni‐S composition. Pure taenite nanograins are extremely rare, but exist among the terminal particles. Assuming that these Fe‐Ni‐S compositions are due to mixing of pyrrhotite and taenite melt droplets, it is remarkable that the taenite melt grains had discrete Fe/Ni ratios. This paper presents the data from an igneous pyrrhotite/taenite fragment of cluster IDP L2011#21, wherein the taenite compositions have the same discrete Fe/Ni clusters as those inferred for the Stardust nanograins. These Fe/Ni clusters are a subsolidus feature with compositions that are constrained by the Fe‐Ni phase diagram. They formed during cooling of the parent body of this cluster IDP fragment. These specific Fe/Ni ratios, 12.5, 24, 40, and 53 atom% Ni, were preserved in asteroidal taenite that survived radially outward transport to the Kuiper Belt where it accreted into the (future) comet Wild 2 nucleus.     

Constraints on the formation environment of two chondrule‐like igneous particles from comet 81P/Wild 2

Using chemical and petrologic evidence and modeling, we deduce that two chondrule‐like particles named Iris and Callie, from Stardust cometary track C2052,12,74, formed in an environment very similar to that seen for type II chondrules in meteorites. Iris was heated near liquidus, equilibrated, and cooled at ≤100 °C h^‐1 and within ≈2 log units of the IW buffer with a high partial pressure of Na such as would be present with dust enrichments of ≈10³. There was no detectable metamorphic, nebular, or aqueous alteration. In previous work, Ogliore et al. (2012) reported that Iris formed late, >3 Myr after CAIs, assuming ²⁶Al was homogenously distributed, and was rich in heavy oxygen. Iris may be similar to assemblages found only in interplanetary dust particles and Stardust cometary samples called Kool particles. Callie is chemically and isotopically very similar, but not identical to Iris.     

Along‐track compositional and textural variation in extensively melted grains returned from comet 81P/Wild 2 by the Stardust mission: Implications for capture‐melting process

Abstract— Five amorphous (extensively melted) grains from Stardust aerogel capture Track 35 were examined by transmission electron microscopy (TEM); two from the bulb, two from near the bulb‐stylus transition, and one from near the terminal particle. Melted grains consist largely of a texturally and compositionally heterogeneous emulsion of immiscible metal/sulfide beads nanometers to tens of nanometers in diameter in a silica‐rich vesicular glass. Most metal/sulfide beads are spherical, but textures of non‐spherical beads indicate that some solidified as large drops during stretching and breaking while in translational and rotational motion, and others solidified from lenses of immiscible liquid at the silicate‐melt/vesicle (vapor) interface. Melted grains appear to become richer in Fe relative to Mg, and depleted in S relative to Fe and Ni with increasing penetration distance along the aerogel capture track. Fe/S ratios are near unity in grains from the bulb of Track 35, consistent with the dominance of Fe‐monosulfide minerals inferred by previous research on Stardust materials. Near‐stoichiometric Fe/S in melted grains from the bulb suggests that Fe‐sulfides in the bulb were dispersed and melted during formation of the bulb but did not lose S. Along‐track increases in Fe/S in melted grains from the bulb through the bulb‐stylus transition and continuing into the stylus indicate that S initially present as iron monosulfide may have been progressively partially volatilized and lost from the melted grains with greater penetration of the grains deeper into the aerogel during capture‐melting of comet dust. Extensively melted grains from the bulbs of aerogel capture tracks may preserve better primary compositional information with less capture‐related modification than grains from farther along the same capture tracks.     

Photometric analysis of the nucleus of Comet 81P/Wild 2 from Stardust images

The disk-resolved flyby images of the nucleus of Comet 81P/Wild 2 collected by Stardust are used to perform a detailed study of the photometric properties of this cometary nucleus. A disk-integrated phase function from phase angle 11° to about 100° is measured and modeled. A phase slope of 0.0513 ± 0.0002 mag/deg is found, with a V-band absolute magnitude of 16.29 ± 0.02. Hapke’s photometric model yields a single-scattering albedo of 0.034, an asymmetry factor of phase function −0.53, a geometric albedo 0.059, and a V-band absolute magnitude of 16.03 ± 0.07. Disk-resolved photometric modeling from both the Hapke model and the Minnaert model results in 11% model RMS, indicating small photometric variations. The roughness parameter is modeled to be 27 ± 5° from limb-darkening profile. The modeled single-scattering albedo and asymmetry factor of the phase function are 0.038 ± 0.004 and −0.52 ± 0.04, respectively, consistent with those from disk-integrated phase function. The bulk photometric properties of the nucleus of Wild 2 are comparable with those of other cometary nuclei. The photometric variations on the surface of the nucleus of Wild 2 are at a level of or smaller than 15%, much smaller than those on the nucleus of Comet 19P/Borrelly and comparable or smaller than those on the nucleus of Comet 9P/Tempel 1. The similar photometric parameters of the nuclei of Wild 2, Tempel 1, and the non-source areas of fan jets on Borrelly may reflect the typical photometric properties of the weakly active surfaces on cometary nuclei.     

Interpretation of Wild 2 dust fine structure: Comparison of Stardust aluminum foil craters to the three‐dimensional shape of experimental impacts by artificial aggregate particles and meteorite powders

Abstract— New experimental results show that Stardust crater morphology is consistent with interpretation of many larger Wild 2 dust grains being aggregates, albeit most of low porosity and therefore relatively high density. The majority of large Stardust grains (i.e. those carrying most of the cometary dust mass) probably had density of 2.4 g cm^?3 (similar to soda‐lime glass used in earlier calibration experiments) or greater, and porosity of 25% or less, akin to consolidated carbonaceous chondrite meteorites, and much lower than the 80% suggested for fractal dust aggregates. Although better size calibration is required for interpretation of the very smallest impacting grains, we suggest that aggregates could have dense components dominated by μm‐scale and smaller sub‐grains. If porosity of the Wild 2 nucleus is high, with similar bulk density to other comets, much of the pore space may be at a scale of tens of micrometers, between coarser, denser grains. Successful demonstration of aggregate projectile impacts in the laboratory now opens the possibility of experiments to further constrain the conditions for creation of bulbous (Type C) tracks in aerogel, which we have observed in recent shots. We are also using mixed mineral aggregates to document differential survival of pristine composition and crystalline structure in diverse finegrained components of aggregate cometary dust analogues, impacted onto both foil and aerogel under Stardust encounter conditions.     

Physical, Chemical, and Mineralogical Properties of Comet 81P/Wild 2 Particles Collected by Stardust

NASA’s Stardust spacecraft collected dust from the coma of Comet 81P/Wild 2 by impact into aerogel capture cells or into Al-foils. The first direct, laboratory measurement of the physical, chemical, and mineralogical properties of cometary dust grains ranging from <10⁻¹⁵ to ∼10⁻⁴ g were made on this dust. Deposition of material along the entry tracks in aerogel and the presence of compound craters in the Al-foils both indicate that many of the Wild 2 particles in the size range sampled by Stardust are weakly bound aggregates of a diverse range of minerals. Mineralogical characterization of fragments extracted from tracks indicates that most tracks were dominated by olivine, low-Ca pyroxene, or Fe-sulfides, although one track was dominated by refractory minerals similar to Ca–Al inclusions in primitive meteorites. Minor mineral phases, including Cu–Fe-sulfide, Fe–Zn-sulfide, carbonate and metal oxides, were found along some tracks. The high degree of variability of the element/Fe ratios for S, Ca, Ti, Cr, Mn, Ni, Cu, Zn, and Ga among the 23 tracks from aerogel capture cells analyzed during Stardust Preliminary Examination is consistent with the mineralogical variability. This indicates Wild 2 particles have widely varying compositions at the largest size analyzed (>10 μm). Because Stardust collected particles from several jets, sampling material from different regions of the interior of Wild 2, these particles are expected to be representative of the non-volatile component of the comet over the size range sampled. Thus, the stream of particles associated with Comet Wild 2 contains individual grains of diverse elemental and mineralogical compositions, some rich in Fe and S, some in Mg, and others in Ca and Al. The mean refractory element abundance pattern in the Wild 2 particles that were examined is consistent with the CI meteorite pattern for Mg, Si, Cr, Fe, and Ni to 35%, and for Ca, Ti and Mn to 60%, but S/Si and Fe/Si both show a statistically significant depletion from the CI values and the moderately volatile elements Cu, Zn, Ga are enriched relative to CI. This elemental abundance pattern is similar to that in anhydrous, porous interplanetary dust particles (IDPs), suggesting that, if Wild 2 dust preserves the original composition of the Solar Nebula, the anhydrous, porous IDPs, not the CI meteorites, may best reflect the Solar Nebula abundances. This might be tested by elemental composition measurements on cometary meteors.     

Laboratory simulation of impacts on aluminum foils of the Stardust spacecraft: Calibration of dust particle size from comet Wild‐2

Abstract— Metallic aluminum alloy foils exposed on the forward, comet‐facing surface of the aerogel tray on the Stardust spacecraft are likely to have been impacted by the same cometary particle population as the dedicated impact sensors and the aerogel collector. The ability of soft aluminum alloy to record hypervelocity impacts as bowl‐shaped craters offers an opportunistic substrate for recognition of impacts by particles of a potentially wide size range. In contrast to impact surveys conducted on samples from low Earth orbit, the simple encounter geometry for Stardust and Wild‐2, with a known and constant spacecraft‐particle relative velocity and effective surface‐perpendicular impact trajectories, permits closely comparable simulation in laboratory experiments. For a detailed calibration program, we have selected a suite of spherical glass projectiles of uniform density and hardness characteristics, with well‐documented particle size range from 10 μm to nearly 100 μm. Light gas gun buckshot firings of these particles at approximately 6 km s^?1 onto samples of the same foil as employed on Stardust have yielded large numbers of craters. Scanning electron microscopy of both projectiles and impact features has allowed construction of a calibration plot, showing a linear relationship between impacting particle size and impact crater diameter. The close match between our experimental conditions and the Stardust mission encounter parameters should provide another opportunity to measure particle size distributions and fluxes close to the nucleus of Wild‐2, independent of the active impact detector instruments aboard the Stardust spacecraft.     

Fine‐grained material of 81P/Wild 2 in interaction with the Stardust aerogel

Abstract– The deceleration tracks in the Stardust aerogel display a wide range of morphologies, which reveal a large diversity of incoming particles from comet 81P/Wild 2. If the large and dense mineral grains survived the extreme conditions of hypervelocity capture, this was not the case for the fine‐grained material that is found strongly damaged within the aerogel. Due to their low mechanical strength, these assemblages were disaggregated, dispersed, and flash melted in the aerogel in walls of bulbous deceleration tracks. Their petrologic and mineralogical properties are found significantly modified by the flash heating of the capture. Originating from a quenched melt mixture of comet material and aerogel, the representative microstructure consists of silica‐rich glassy clumps containing Fe‐Ni‐S inclusions, vesicles and “dust‐rich” patches, the latter being remnants of individual silicate components of the impacting aggregate. The average composition of these melted particle fragments is close to the chondritic CI composition. They might originate from ultrafine‐grained primitive components comparable to those found in chondritic porous IDPs. Capture effects in aerogel and associated sample biases are discussed in terms of size, chemical and mineralogical properties of the grains. These properties are essential for the grain survival in the extremely hot environment of hypervelocity impact capture in aerogel, and thus for inferring the correct properties of Wild 2 material.     

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.     

Connection between micrometeorites and Wild 2 particles: From Antarctic snow to cometary ices

Abstract— We discuss the relationship between large cosmic dust that represents the main source of extraterrestrial matter presently accreted by the Earth and samples from comet 81P/Wild 2 returned by the Stardust mission in January 2006. Prior examinations of the Stardust samples have shown that Wild 2 cometary dust particles contain a large diversity of components, formed at various heliocentric distances. These analyses suggest large‐scale radial mixing mechanism(s) in the early solar nebula and the existence of a continuum between primitive asteroidal and cometary matter. The recent collection of CONCORDIA Antarctic micrometeorites recovered from ultra‐clean snow close to Dome C provides the most unbiased collection of large cosmic dust available for analyses in the laboratory. Many similarities can be found between Antarctic micrometeorites and Wild 2 samples, in terms of chemical, mineralogical, and isotopic compositions, and in the structure and composition of their carbonaceous matter. Cosmic dust in the form of CONCORDIA Antarctic micrometeorites and primitive IDPs are preferred samples to study the asteroid‐comet continuum.