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Stardust Interstellar Preliminary Examination II : Curating the interstellar dust collector, picokeystones, and sources of impact tracks
Author(s) -
Frank David R.,
Westphal Andrew J.,
Zolensky Michael E.,
Gainsforth Zack,
Butterworth Anna L.,
Bastien Ronald K.,
Allen Carlton,
Anderson David,
Ansari Asna,
Bajt Sasa,
Bassim Nabil,
Bechtel Hans A.,
Borg Janet,
Brenker Frank E.,
Bridges John,
Brownlee Donald E.,
Burchell Mark,
Burghammer Manfred,
Changela Hitesh,
Cloetens Peter,
Davis Andrew M.,
Doll Ryan,
Floss Christine,
Flynn George,
Grün Eberhard,
Heck Philipp R.,
Hillier Jon K.,
Hoppe Peter,
Hudson Bruce,
Huth Joachim,
Hvide Brit,
Kearsley Anton,
King Ashley J.,
Lai Barry,
Leitner Jan,
Lemelle Laurence,
Leroux Hugues,
Leonard Ariel,
Lettieri Robert,
Marchant William,
Nittler Larry R.,
Ogliore Ryan,
Ong Wei Ja,
Postberg Frank,
Price Mark C.,
Sandford Scott A.,
Tresseras JuanAngel Sans,
Schmitz Sylvia,
Schoonjans Tom,
Silversmit Geert,
Simionovici Alexandre S.,
Solé Vicente A.,
Srama Ralf,
Stephan Thomas,
Sterken Veerle J.,
Stodolna Julien,
Stroud Rhonda M.,
Sutton Steven,
Trieloff Mario,
Tsou Peter,
Tsuchiyama Akira,
Tyliszczak Tolek,
Vekemans Bart,
Vincze Laszlo,
Korff Joshua Von,
Wordsworth Naomi,
Zevin Daniel
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
meteoritics and planetary science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.09
H-Index - 100
eISSN - 1945-5100
pISSN - 1086-9379
DOI - 10.1111/maps.12147
Subject(s) - context (archaeology) , astrobiology , cosmic dust , interplanetary dust cloud , interstellar medium , physics , aerogel , interplanetary spaceflight , spacecraft , astrophysics , astronomy , solar system , nanotechnology , geology , materials science , solar wind , plasma , quantum mechanics , galaxy , paleontology
We discuss the inherent difficulties that arise during “ground truth” characterization of the Stardust interstellar dust collector. The challenge of identifying contemporary interstellar dust impact tracks in aerogel is described within the context of background spacecraft secondaries and possible interplanetary dust particles and β‐meteoroids. In addition, the extraction of microscopic dust embedded in aerogel is technically challenging. Specifically, we provide a detailed description of the sample preparation techniques developed to address the unique goals and restrictions of the Interstellar Preliminary Exam. These sample preparation requirements and the scarcity of candidate interstellar impact tracks exacerbate the difficulties. We also illustrate the role of initial optical imaging with critically important examples, and summarize the overall processing of the collection to date.