The Unique Scientific Value of Returned Samples in Astrochemistry

Intro
Organizers
Webinar Format
Today's Speaker
One of the best ways to understand an object is to establish its composition. An object's composition can provide information on for example
To study the original materials from which the Solar System was made, don't look to planets for help - they destroy the Raw Stuff from which they were made
Much of our current inventory of meteorites available for study comes from Antarctica Why collect from Antarctica given the obvious hazards and difficulties?
The real reasons we find a lot of meteorites in Antarctica
ANSMET and some (In)famous Antarctic meteorites
Unfortunately, collected samples of meteorites and cosmic dust particles are almost all orphans' - we don't know exactly where they come from
The Advantages of Sample Return Missions
Two Past Sample Return Missions - NASA's Stardust Comet Sample Return Mission JAXA's Hayabusa Asteroid Sample Return Mission
Stardust took advantage of Comet Wild 2's wild ride through the Solar System
STARDUST's Orbital Trajectory
The STARDUST Spacecraft
The Aerogel Collector Array (The Stardust catcher's mitt)
Particles can survive hypervelocity impacts into aerogel, but are largely destroyed if they hit something hard like metal
Material was collected as Stardust flow through the coma of 81P/Wild 2
the Utah Test and Training Range (UTTR)
The Capsule Landing Site January 15, 2006
Unequilibrated Materials
Protosolar Nebular Mixing
Organics are present and Varied
Mostly Protosolar, not Presolar
But Deuterium and 1SN Enrichments in the Organics are Not Uncommon
Stardust Top Hits List - Summary
HXA The Japanese Hayabusa ("Falcon") Asteroid Sample Return Mission
Itokawa is not a very large asteroid and appears to be a "rubble pile"
Putting Itokawa in Scale (bigger than the Space Station)
Itokawa appears to be a "Rubble Pile"- it has relatively few craters and lots of boulders
The sampling attempt on November 20, 2005 did not go perfectly
Reentry and Recovery of the Hayabusa SRC June 2010 - Right on target
The Victorious Cleanroom Crew after the Opening of the Sample Canister
Once we knew we had particles for analyses, JAXA began distributing them to Preliminary Examination Team (PET) members for multiple types of analysis
Examples of Hayabusa Particles
Summary of Hayabusa Results
Current Sample Return Missions: OSIRIS-REX and Hayabusa2
OUR TARGET ASTEROID - 101955 Bennu (provisional designation 1999 RQ36)
OSIRIS-REX INSTRUMENT PAYLOAD
TOUCH-AND-GO SAMPLE ACQUISITION SYSTEM (TAGSAM) and Sample Return Capsule Operation
Earth Gravity Assist - 21 Sept 2017
Getting to know Bennu
Crater candidates
Record Setting Orbit (x2)
Spectroscopy: Widespread Hydrated Minerals
Bennu is an Active Asteroid!
AN OSIRIS-REX FAST: MEASURING A PLANETARY MASS USING RADAR AND INFRARED ASTRONOMY
BENNU HAS MULTIPLE FUTURE OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPACT WITH THE EARTH
Candidate Sample Sites
Checkpoint Rehearsal
Remember returned samples are a legacy that will be used by scientists for years to come