Mineralogy of terminal grains recovered from the Tanpopo capture panel onboard the International Space Station
Corresponding Author
Takaaki Noguchi
Division of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
Correspondence
Takaaki Noguchi, Division of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Kyoto University, Kitashirakawaoiwake-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8502, Japan.
Email: [email protected]
Search for more papers by this authorAkira Miyake
Division of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
Search for more papers by this authorHikaru Yabuta
Department of Earth and Planetary Systems Science, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan
Search for more papers by this authorYoko Kebukawa
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, Japan
Search for more papers by this authorHiroki Suga
NanoTerasu Promotion Division, Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan
Search for more papers by this authorMakoto Tabata
Faculty of Science, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan
Search for more papers by this authorKyoko Okudaira
Division of Information Systems and Aizu Research Center for Space Informatics (ARC-Space), Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University of Aizu, Fukushima, Japan
Search for more papers by this authorAkihiko Yamagishi
Department of Life Sciences, Tokyo University of Pharmacy and Life Sciences, Tokyo, Japan
Search for more papers by this authorH. Yano
Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan
Space and Astronautical Science, Graduate Institute for Advanced Studies, SOKENDAI, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Takaaki Noguchi
Division of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
Correspondence
Takaaki Noguchi, Division of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Kyoto University, Kitashirakawaoiwake-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8502, Japan.
Email: [email protected]
Search for more papers by this authorAkira Miyake
Division of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
Search for more papers by this authorHikaru Yabuta
Department of Earth and Planetary Systems Science, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan
Search for more papers by this authorYoko Kebukawa
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, Japan
Search for more papers by this authorHiroki Suga
NanoTerasu Promotion Division, Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan
Search for more papers by this authorMakoto Tabata
Faculty of Science, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan
Search for more papers by this authorKyoko Okudaira
Division of Information Systems and Aizu Research Center for Space Informatics (ARC-Space), Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University of Aizu, Fukushima, Japan
Search for more papers by this authorAkihiko Yamagishi
Department of Life Sciences, Tokyo University of Pharmacy and Life Sciences, Tokyo, Japan
Search for more papers by this authorH. Yano
Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan
Space and Astronautical Science, Graduate Institute for Advanced Studies, SOKENDAI, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan
Search for more papers by this authorEditorial Handling—Donald Brownlee
Abstract
The Tanpopo experiment is Japan's first astrobiology mission aboard the Japanese Experiment Module Exposed Facility on the International Space Station. The Tanpopo-1 mission exposed silica aerogel panels to low Earth orbit from 2015 to 2016 to capture micrometeoroids. We identified an impact track measuring approximately 8 mm long, which contained terminal grains in the silica aerogel panel oriented toward space. The impact track exhibited a bulbous cavity with two thin, straight tracks branching from it, each preserving a terminal grain at their ends. The terminal grains were extracted from the silica aerogel and analyzed using scanning transmission electron microscopy and scanning transmission X-ray microscopy to investigate their X-ray absorption near-edge structure (STXM-XANES). Both grains are Fe-bearing and relatively homogeneous orthopyroxene crystals (En88.4±0.4 and En88.2±1.8). The recovery of Fe-bearing low-Ca pyroxene aligns with previous studies of micrometeoroids captured in LEO. Micrometeoroids containing Fe-bearing olivine and low-Ca pyroxene are likely abundant in LEO.
Open Research
Data availability statement
Data are available on request from the authors.
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