Development of Integrated Microanalysis of Nanomaterials (06-ERI-001)
Comets--small extraterrestrial bodies of ice, dust, and small rocky particles--are considered the oldest, most primitive bodies in the solar system. They were thought to be composed of preserved interstellar particles from 4.6 billion years ago, when the Sun and the planets began to form from a primordial disk of dust and gas. The nonvolatile mineral components of comets are probably natural nanomaterials that include preserved interstellar dust as well as the first solids condensed in the solar system. Thus, comet samples may be considered as forensic 'time capsules' from the presolar molecular cloud and the earliest stages of solar system formation. Cometary material was captured in 2004, when the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Stardust spacecraft flew through the coma of comet Wild as it neared the orbit of Mars. As Stardust approached the 4.5-kilometer-diameter comet, the spacecraft briefly extended a collector filled with lightweight aerogel glass foam to capture thousands of tiny particles. On January 15, 2006, the spacecraft ejected its sample return capsule onto the Utah desert southwest of Salt Lake City. Researchers at LLNL supported by this LDRD were part of a collaborative team investigating the mineralogical, chemical, and isotopic compositions of natural cometary nanomaterials from the Stardust mission using the unique array of analytical facilities at Livermore. The studies have provided provide new insight into cosmically primitive materials that will enable a better understanding of the earliest stages of disk accretion around stars. The skills and analysis techniques developed for the characterization of these natural nanomaterials are synergistic with several Livermore programmatic needs in the emerging fields of nanomaterials, nanotechnology and forensics. The Stardust samples are also ideal training materials for a new generation of young scientists using state-of-the-art analytical instruments at the Laboratory.
- Research Organization:
- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-48
- OSTI ID:
- 967759
- Report Number(s):
- LLNL-TR-417680
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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