scholarly journals Concerns of Organic Contamination for Sample Return Space Missions

2020 ◽  
Vol 216 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Queenie Hoi Shan Chan ◽  
Rhonda Stroud ◽  
Zita Martins ◽  
Hikaru Yabuta
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Solar System ◽  
Analytical Techniques ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Organic Analysis ◽  
Terrestrial Organic Matter ◽  
Organic Contamination ◽  
Sample Return ◽  
Contamination Control ◽  
Solar System Exploration

Abstract Analysis of organic matter has been one of the major motivations behind solar system exploration missions. It addresses questions related to the organic inventory of our solar system and its implication for the origin of life on Earth. Sample return missions aim at returning scientifically valuable samples from target celestial bodies to Earth. By analysing the samples with the use of state-of-the-art analytical techniques in laboratories here on Earth, researchers can address extremely complicated aspects of extra-terrestrial organic matter. This level of detailed sample characterisation provides the range and depth in organic analysis that are restricted in spacecraft-based exploration missions, due to the limitations of the on-board in-situ instrumentation capabilities. So far, there are four completed and in-process sample return missions with an explicit mandate to collect organic matter: Stardust and OSIRIS-REx missions of NASA, and Hayabusa and Hayabusa2 missions of JAXA. Regardless of the target body, all sample return missions dedicate to minimise terrestrial organic contamination of the returned samples, by applying various degrees or strategies of organic contamination mitigation methods. Despite the dedicated efforts in the design and execution of contamination control, it is impossible to completely eliminate sources of organic contamination. This paper aims at providing an overview of the successes and lessons learned with regards to the identification of indigenous organic matter of the returned samples vs terrestrial contamination.

Auto-Gopher-2 - Wireline Deep Sampler Driven by Percussive Piezoelectric Actuator and Rotary EM Motors

2016 ◽  
Vol 100 ◽  
pp. 207-212 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoseph Bar-Cohen ◽  
Kris Zacny ◽  
Mircea Badescu ◽  
Hyeong Jae Lee ◽  
Stewart Sherrit ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Solar System ◽  
Field Test ◽  
Piezoelectric Actuator ◽  
First Generation ◽  
Penetration Rate ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Biologically Inspired ◽  
Rate Of Penetration ◽  
Solar System Exploration ◽  
Percussive Drill

Two of the key purposes of future NASA’s solar system exploration of planetary bodies are the search for potentially preserved bio-signatures and for habitable regions. To address these objectives, a biologically inspired wireline deep rotary-percussive drill, called Auto-Gopher, has been developed. This drill employs a piezoelectric actuated percussive mechanism for generating impulsive stresses and breaking formations, and an electric motor to rotate the bit to break material and remove the cuttings. Initially, the drill was designed as percussive mechanism for sampling ice and was demonstrated in 2005 at Lake Vida, Antarctica, reaching about 2 m depth. The lessons learned suggested there is a need to augment the percussive action with bit rotation in order to maximize the penetration rate. The first generation implementation of the rotary augmentation was focused on the demonstration of this capability. In 2012, during the 3-day field test, the drill reached a 3-meter deep in gypsum. A separate mechanism was used to break and remove the cores. The average drilling power consumption was in the range of 100-150 Watts, while the rate of penetration was approximately 2.4 m/hr. Currently under development is the second-generation drill, called Auto-Gopher 2. The drill will be fully autonomous. In this paper, the capabilities that are being integrated into the Auto-Gopher-2 are described and discussed.

scholarly journals The Power of Sample Return Missions - Stardust and Hayabusa

2011 ◽  
Vol 7 (S280) ◽  
pp. 275-287 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott A. Sandford
Keyword(s):  
Solar System ◽  
Analytical Techniques ◽  
Opportunities To Learn ◽  
Round Trip ◽  
Complete Sample ◽  
Sample Return ◽  
Proximity Operations ◽  
Spacecraft Mission ◽  
Genesis Mission

AbstractSample return missions offer opportunities to learn things about other objects in our Solar System (and beyond) that cannot be determined by observations using in situ spacecraft. This is largely because the returned samples can be studied in terrestrial laboratories where the analyses are not limited by the constraints - power, mass, time, precision, etc. - imposed by normal spacecraft operations. In addition, the returned samples serve as a scientific resource that is available far into the future; the study of the samples can continue long after the original spacecraft mission is finished. This means the samples can be continually revisited as both our scientific understanding and analytical techniques improve with time.These advantages come with some additional difficulties, however. In particular, sample return missions must deal with the additional difficulties of proximity operations near the objects they are to sample, and they must be capable of successfully making a round trip between the Earth and the sampled object. Such missions therefore need to take special precautions against unique hazards and be designed to successfully complete relatively extended mission durations.Despite these difficulties, several recent missions have managed to successfully complete sample returns from a number of Solar System objects. These include the Stardust mission (samples from Comet 81P/Wild 2), the Hayabusa mission (samples from asteroid 25143 Itokawa), and the Genesis mission (samples of solar wind). This paper will review the advantages and difficulties of sample return missions in general and will summarize some key findings of the recent Stardust and Hayabusa missions.

scholarly journals Organic Matter in the Solar System—Implications for Future on-Site and Sample Return Missions

2020 ◽  
Vol 216 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zita Martins ◽  
Queenie Hoi Shan Chan ◽  
Lydie Bonal ◽  
Ashley King ◽  
Hikaru Yabuta
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Chemical Composition ◽  
Solar System ◽  
Dust Particles ◽  
Sample Return ◽  
Site Analysis ◽  
Organic Composition ◽  
Solar System Bodies ◽  
Similarities And Differences ◽  
Future Sample

Abstract Solar system bodies like comets, asteroids, meteorites and dust particles contain organic matter with different abundances, structures and chemical composition. This chapter compares the similarities and differences of the organic composition in these planetary bodies. Furthermore, these links are explored in the context of detecting the most pristine organic material, either by on-site analysis or sample return missions. Finally, we discuss the targets of potential future sample return missions, as well as the contamination controls that should be in place in order to successfully study pristine organic matter.

scholarly journals Advanced Curation of Astromaterials for Planetary Science

2019 ◽  
Vol 215 (8) ◽  
Author(s):  
Francis M. McCubbin ◽  
Christopher D. K. Herd ◽  
Toru Yada ◽  
Aurore Hutzler ◽  
Michael J. Calaway ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Solar System ◽  
Natural History ◽  
Best Practices ◽  
Cosmic Dust ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Scientific Integrity ◽  
Sample Collection ◽  
Sample Return ◽  
History Of ◽  
Future Sample

Abstract Just as geological samples from Earth record the natural history of our planet, astromaterials hold the natural history of our solar system and beyond. Astromaterials acquisition and curation practices have direct consequences on the contamination levels of astromaterials and hence the types of questions that can be answered about our solar system and the degree of precision that can be expected of those answers. Advanced curation was developed as a cross-disciplinary field to improve curation and acquisition practices in existing astromaterials collections and for future sample return activities, including meteorite and cosmic dust samples that are collected on Earth. These goals are accomplished through research and development of new innovative technologies and techniques for sample collection, handling, characterization, analysis, and curation of astromaterials. In this contribution, we discuss five broad topics in advanced curation that are critical to improving sample acquisition and curation practices, including (1) best practices for monitoring and testing of curation infrastructure for inorganic, organic, and biological contamination; (2) requirements for storage, processing, and sample handling capabilities for future sample return missions, along with recent progress in these areas; (3) advancements and improvements in astromaterials acquisition capabilities on Earth (i.e., the collection of meteorites and cosmic dust); (4) the importance of contamination knowledge strategies for maximizing the science returns of sample-return missions; and (5) best practices and emerging capabilities for the basic characterization and preliminary examination of astromaterials. The primary result of advanced curation research is to both reduce and quantify contamination of astromaterials and preserve the scientific integrity of all samples from mission inception to secure delivery of samples to Earth-based laboratories for in-depth scientific analysis. Advanced curation serves as an important science-enabling activity, and the collective lessons learned from previous spacecraft missions and the results of advanced curation research will work in tandem to feed forward into better spacecraft designs and enable more stringent requirements for future sample return missions and Earth-based sample acquisition.

scholarly journals Hypervelocity Capture of Meteoroids in Aerogel

1996 ◽  
Vol 150 ◽  
pp. 237-242 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Tsou
Keyword(s):  
Solar System ◽  
Solar Nebula ◽  
Planetary Science ◽  
Laboratory Analysis ◽  
Dust Particles ◽  
Sample Return ◽  
Processing History ◽  
History Of ◽  
Sample Return Mission ◽  
Solar System Exploration

Micrometeoroids of cometary or asteroidal origin constitute a unique repository of information concerning the formation and subsequent processing history of materials in the solar nebula. One of the current goals of planetary science is to return samples from a known primitive extraterrestrial body for detailed laboratory analysis (NASA Solar System Exploration Committee, SSEC 1983). Planetary flyby orbital motions dictate that dust particles will approach the spacecraft at relative speeds up to tens of km/s. It has always been thought that these hypervelocity particles could not be captured without melting or vaporizing. We have developed the intact capture technology that enables flyby sample return of these hypervelocity particles. The STARDUST comet sample return mission, selected as the fourth NASA. Discovery mission, capitalizes on this technology (Brownlee et al. 1996).

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