In this study we investigate the likeliness of the existence of an iron sulfide layer (FeS matte) at the core-mantle boundary (CMB) of Mercury by comparing new chemical surface data obtained by the X-ray Spectrometer onboard the MESSENGER spacecraft with geochemical models supported by high-pressure experiments under reducing conditions. We present a new data set consisting of 233 Ti/Si measurements, which combined with Al/Si data show that Mercury's surface has a slightly subchondritic Ti/Al ratio of 0.035 +/- 0.008. Multiphase equilibria experiments show that at the conditions of Mercury's core formation, Ti is chalcophile but not siderophile, making Ti a useful tracer of sulfide melt formation. We parameterize and use our partitioning data in a model to calculate the relative depletion of Ti in the bulk silicate fraction of Mercury as a function of a putative FeS layer thickness. By comparing the model results and surface elemental data we show that Mercury most likely does not have a FeS layer, and in case it would have one, it would only be a few kilometers thick (<13 km). We also show that Mercury's metallic Fe(Si) core cannot contain more than similar to 1.5 wt.% sulfur and that the formation of this core under reducing conditions is responsible for the slightly subchondritic Ti/Al ratio of Mercury's surface. (C) 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Meteorites originating from primitive C-type asteroids are composed of materials from the Sun's protoplanetary disk, including up to a few per cent organic carbon. In contrast, some interplanetary dust particles and micrometeorites have much higher carbon contents, up to >90%, and are thought to originate from icy outer Solar System bodies and comets. Here we report an approximately 100-mu m-diameter very carbon-rich clast, with highly primitive characteristics, in the matrix of a CR2 chondrite, LaPaz Icefield 02342. The clast may represent a cometary building block, largely unsampled in meteorite collections, that was captured by a C-type asteroid during the early stages of planet formation. The existence of this cometary microxenolith supports the idea of a radially inward transport of materials from the outer protoplanetary disk into the CR chondrite reservoir during the formation of planetesimals. Moreover, the H-isotopic composition of the clast is suggestive of a temporal evolution of organic isotopic compositions in the comet-forming region of the disk.

We re-examine the Renazzo-like (CR) chondrite metamorphic trend based on Cr2O3 contents of FeO-rich olivine, indicating that it is only appropriate to use such analyses to identify the endmembers of this group (i.e., those that have experienced either no detectable heating or significant heating). As such Miller Range (MIL) 090657 appears to have experienced very minimal (if any) thermal processing and is one of the most pristine CR chondrites analyzed to date, while Graves Nunataks 06100 is the most shock-heated CR chondrite studied.

Interplanetary dust particles (IDPs) and micrometeorites (MMs) were likely major sources of extraterrestrial organics at the surface of the early Earth. However, these particles experience heating to >500 degrees C for up to several seconds during atmospheric entry. In this study, we aim to understand the effects of atmospheric entry heating on the dominant organic component in IDPs and MMs by conducting flash heating experiments (4 s to 400 degrees C, 600 degrees C, 800 degrees C, and 1000 degrees C) on insoluble organic matter (IOM) extracted from the meteorite Cold Bokkeveld (CM2). For each of the experimental charges, the bulk isotopic compositions of H, N, and C were analyzed by IRMS, the H isotopic heterogeneities (occurrence of deuterium hotspots) of the samples were measured by NanoSIMS, and the functional group chemistry and ordering of the IOM was evaluated by using FTIR and Raman spectroscopy, respectively. Organic matter in particles heated to >= 600 degrees C during atmospheric entry experienced significant alteration. Loss of isotopically heavy, labile H and N groups results in decreases in bulk delta D, delta N-15, H/C and, upon heating >= 800 degrees C, in N/C. The H isotopic heterogeneity was not greatly affected by flash heating to <= 600 degrees C, although the hotspots tended to be less isotopically anomalous in the 600 degrees C sample than in the 400 degrees C sample. However, the hotspots all but disappeared in the 800 degrees C sample. Loss of C=O groups occurred at 800 degrees C. Based on the Raman G-band characteristics, the heating resulted in increased ordering of the polyaromatic component of the IOM.

The X-Ray Spectrometer (XRS) on the MESSENGER spacecraft provided measurements of major-element ratios across Mercury's surface. We present global maps of Mg/Si, Al/Si, S/Si, Ca/Si, and Fe/Si derived from XRS data collected throughout MESSENGER's orbital mission. We describe the procedures we used to select and filter data and to combine them to make the final maps, which are archived in NASA's Planetary Data System. Areal coverage is variable for the different element-ratio maps, with 100% coverage for Mg/Si and Al/Si, but only 18% coverage for Fe/Si north of 30 degrees N, where the spatial resolution is highest. The spatial resolution is improved over previous maps by 10-15% because of the inclusion of higher-resolution data from late in the mission when the spacecraft periapsis altitude was low. Unlike typical planetary data maps, however, the spatial resolution of the XRS maps can vary from pixel to pixel, and thus care must be taken in interpreting small-scale features. We provide several examples of how the XRS maps can be used to investigate elemental variations in the context of geological features on Mercury, which range in size from single similar to 100-km-diameter craters to large impact basins. We expect that these maps will provide the basis for and/or contribute to studies of Mercury's origin and geological history for many years to come.

We built a collector to filter interplanetary dust particles (IDPs) larger than 5 mu m from the clean air at the Amundsen Scott South Pole station. Our sampling strategy used long duration, continuous dry filtering of near-surface air in place of short duration, high-speed impact collection on flags flown in the stratosphere. We filtered similar to 10(7) m(3) of clean Antarctic air through 20 cm diameter, 3 mu m filters coupled to a suction blower of modest power consumption (5-6 kW). Our collector ran continuously for 2 years and yielded 41 filters for analyses. Based on stratospheric concentrations, we predicted that each month's collection would provide 300-900 IDPs for analysis. We identified 19 extraterrestrial (ET) particles on the 66 cm(2) of filter examined, which represented similar to 0.5% of the exposed filter surfaces. The 11 ET particles larger than 5 mu m yield about a fifth of the expected flux based on >5 mu m stratospheric ET particle flux. Of the 19 ET particles identified, four were chondritic porous IDPs, seven were FeNiS beads, two were FeNi grains, and six were chondritic material with FeNiS components. Most were <10 mu m in diameter and none were cluster particles. Additionally, a carbon-rich candidate particle was found to have a small N-15 isotopic enrichment, supporting an ET origin. Many other candidate grains, including chondritic glasses and C-rich particles with Mg and Si and FeS grains, require further analysis to determine if they are ET. The vast majority of exposed filter surfaces remain to be examined.

Planetary remote-sensing instruments are often required to cover a relatively large field of view, ideally with a uniform angular resolution over the field, due to relatively large apparent sizes of planetary targets at close proximities. They also have to comply with relatively tight mass and volume constraints. For these reasons, planetary x-ray telescopes in the past were mainly collimation-based x-ray spectrometers without focusing optics. Recent advances in x-ray optics technology now enable compact focusing x-ray telescopes suitable for planetary science (e.g., BepiColombo). We present two design options for compact Wolter-I x-ray optics for a SmallSat lunar mission concept-the CubeSat X-ray telescope (CubeX). The primary objectives of CubeX are to map surface elemental abundances of selected lunar impact craters and to assess the feasibility of millisecond x-ray pulsar timing navigation in realistic deep space navigation environments. The Miniature X-ray Optics (MiXO) in CubeX utilizes electroformed NiCo alloy replication (ENR) technology, which provides many advantages over micro-pore optics (MPO) employed in BepiColombo. We carry out extensive ray traces over a grid of mirror parameters and explore a novel tapered shaped design of tightly nested shells, where both shell length and focal-plane offsets vary with shell diameter. One of the two configurations is optimized for large effective areas at low energies, while the other for lower mass and high-energy response. We compare their performances with those of conventional designs through the spatial resolution and effective area estimated by ray traces. (C) 2020 Optical Society of America

Effects of aqueous alteration on primordial noble gas carriers were investigated by analyzing noble gases and determining presolar SiC abundances in insoluble organic matter (IOM) from four Tagish Lake meteorite (C2-ung.) samples that experienced different degrees of aqueous alteration. The samples contained a mixture of primordial noble gases from phase Q and presolar nanodiamonds (HL, P3), SiC (Ne-E[H]), and graphite (Ne-E[L]). The second most altered sample (11i) had a similar to 2-3 times higher Ne-E concentration than the other samples. The presolar SiC abundances in the samples were determined from NanoSIMS ion images and 11i had a SiC abundance twice that of the other samples. The heterogeneous distribution of SiC grains could be inherited from heterogeneous accretion or parent body alteration could have redistributed SiC grains. Closed system step etching (CSSE) was used to study noble gases in HNO3-susceptible phases in the most and least altered samples. All Ne-E carried by presolar SiC grains in the most altered sample was released during CSSE, while only a fraction of the Ne-E was released from the least altered sample. This increased susceptibility to HNO3 likely represents a step toward degassing. Presolar graphite appears to have been partially degassed during aqueous alteration. Differences in the He-4/Ar-36 and Ne-20/Ar-36 ratios in gases released during CSSE could be due to gas release from presolar nanodiamonds, with more He and Ne being released in the more aqueously altered sample. Aqueous alteration changes the properties of presolar grains so that they react similar to phase Q in the laboratory, thereby altering the perceived composition of Q.

We report a correlated NanoSIMS-transmission electron microscopy study of the ungrouped carbonaceous chondrite Northwest Africa (NWA) 5958. We identified 10 presolar SiC grains, 2 likely presolar graphite grains, and 20 presolar silicate and/or oxide grains in NWA 5958. We suggest a slight modification of the commonly used classification system for presolar oxides and silicates that better reflects the grains' likely stellar origins. The matrix-normalized presolar SiC abundance in NWA 5958 is 18-10+15 ppm (2 sigma) similar to that seen in many classes of unmetamorphosed chondrites. In contrast, the matrix-normalized abundance of presolar O-rich phases (silicates and oxides) is 30.9-13.1+17.8 ppm (2 sigma), much lower than seen in interplanetary dust particles and the least-altered CR, CO, and ungrouped C chondrites, but close to that reported for CM chondrites. NanoSIMS mapping also revealed an unusual C-13-enriched (delta C-13 approximate to 100-200 parts per thousand) carbonaceous rim surrounding a 1.4 mu m diameter phyllosilicate grain. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis of two presolar grains with a likely origin in asymptotic giant branch stars identified one as enstatite and one as Al-Mg spinel with minor Cr. The enstatite grain amorphized rapidly under the electron beam, suggesting partial hydration. TEM data of NWA 5958 matrix confirm that it has experienced aqueous alteration and support the suggestion of Jacquet et al. (34) that this meteorite has affinities to CM2 chondrites.