with the leads from the ASU Center for Meteorite Studies, in its 60th year of operation, studying and classifying meteorites like forensic geologists spanning many world going back in time, even before our Earth formed. And they have a treasure trove of meteorites! I was like a kid in a candy shop when they opened the vault, and then the nitrogen filled storage bins with the rich organic emissaries from outer space.
They are actively studying the compositions of the most primitive classes of meteorites to better understand the time scales and processes involved in the formation of the first solid grains in the solar nebula, that eventually led to the formation of rocky planets like Earth and Mars. Meenakshi Wadhwa is the Director of the School of Earth and Space Exploration and will the the primary scientist for the Mars Sample Return Program (the 38 core samples to be obtained by the Perseverance rover). The techniques for meteoritic studies are quite relevant for sample returns of all types, whether from meteor, robot or human exploration.
I’m holding the fresh Aguas Zarcas CM2 fall from Costa Rica secured by Michael Farmer. Research Professor Laurence Garvie (right), in Science: “Aguas Zarcas is a carbonaceous chondrite, a pristine remnant of the early Solar System. It may hold amino acids, along with stardust that predates the Sun. Some scientists even believe rocks like Aguas Zarcas gave life a nudge when they crashed into a barren Earth 4.5 billion years ago.”
Garvie uses high-spatial-resolution microscopy to study primitive chondritic meteorites as a means of understanding the physical and chemical processes that resulted in the formation of the Solar System. His particular field of interest is the relationship between organic and inorganic components in the carbonaceous chondrites, which can shed light on the abiotic processing of organic matter in the early Solar System.
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