CosmoSparks Reports | PSRD (original) (raw)
Planetary scientists sharing ideas and discoveries.
Planetary Science and Resources Discoveries (PSRD) is an educational site sharing the latest research on the nature and origin of the Moon, meteorites, asteroids, planets, and other materials in our Solar System, and on identifying potential resources on those bodies that could be tapped for the benefit of people on Earth. Original support came from the Planetary Science Division of NASA's Science Mission Directorate and Hawai'i Space Grant Consortium. This site is a vital link for what's new in planetary and space sciences, space resources exploration, and learning how science works.
DATE POSTED
REPORT
PDF VERSIONS
JULY 2021
Visit to a New Mineralogy Museum: The University of Arizona Alfie Norville Gem & Mineral Museum - See spectacular mineral displays and more.
JULY 2020
Riding Along with Apollo 16 Astronauts - Watch a portion of a motion picture film taken during Apollo 16 extravehicular activity that has been enhanced to an upgraded frame rate by Dutchsteammachine.
JUNE 2020
Geology of Ice Deposits at the Lunar Poles - A geologic model of polar deposits describes the source of the ice, its deposition, and its retention in the frigid polar regolith.
JUNE 2020
A Review of the Antarctic Collection of Meteorites - Antarctic meteorites provide a continuous and readily available supply of extraterrestrial materials, stimulating new research and ideas in cosmochemistry, planetary geology, astronomy, and astrobiology.
MAY 2020
Applying Machine Learning to Giant-Impact Studies of Planet Formation - Combining giant-impact studies with machine learning builds on the long-standing aspiration to better understand the long chain of events, collisions, mergers, and accretions that formed planets.
MAY 2020
New Unified Geologic Map of the Moon - The latest renovations of geologic maps of the Moon, created in the 1970s and updated in 2013, are depicted on one unified geologic map at a 1:5,000,000 scale.
APRIL 2020
Cosmic Dust in Planetary Atmospheres - Models and experiments show the fate of cosmic dust that enters the atmospheres of planets and how ionization and ablation of the cosmic dust influences chemistry all the way to the surface.
APRIL 2020
Mineral Abundances in Moon Dirt - A data set of mineral and glass abundance of 118 lunar soil samples was determined by quantitative x-ray diffraction analysis.
MARCH 2020
Looking Up to Understand Down: Studying Other Planets to Learn about Earth - Comparative planetary science is the art of learning about all the planets so we can understand what processes operated during their formation and geologic evolution.
FEB 2020
Missions and Instruments for the Moon - Overviews of NASA's current, funded portfolio of lunar missions, instruments, and concept studies were presented at the February 2020 LEAG virtual workshop.
FEB 2020
ANSMET 2019-2020 Field Season at Davis-Ward, Antarctica - 346 meteorites collected for scientific study.
JAN 2020
No More Global Moon Magnetic Field — When Did the Lunar Dynamo Shut Off? - Studies of remnant rock magnetization in Apollo samples help answer questions of lunar core dynamo duration.
DEC 2019
Geochemistry Journal—Special Issue Honors Professor Klaus Keil - Twenty articles spanning a range of topics in meteoritics and cosmochemistry honor Prof. Klaus Keil on the occasion of his 85th birthday.
DEC 2019
Bennu–Active Asteroid - Particle ejection events from the surface of asteroid Bennu are studied with OSIRIS-REx imaging data and modeling to try to find plausible explanations.
NOV 2019
Building the Case for a New CY Group of Carbonaceous Chondrites - Researchers support naming a new CY group of carbonaceous chondrite meteorites that may be similar to near-Earth asteroid Ryugu, the target of sample return in December 2020.
NOV 2019
Refueling Space Exploration - An academic-government-industry cohort describes how and why to make a lunar-polar-ice propellant production plant on the Moon.
OCT 2019
Dust Delivered to Earth from the Breakup of the L-chondrite Parent Body - Researchers consider the significance of the Ordovician-time influx of extraterrestrial dust on sudden global cooling and increase in diversity of marine life on Earth.
SEPT 2019
Solar Wind Interactions with a Lunar Paleo-magnetosphere - Modeling results indicate that interaction of a lunar paleo-magnetosphere with the early solar wind affected the competing processes of implantation, accumulation, and space weathering of solar wind H+ on the lunar surface.
SEPT 2019
New Mineral: Edscottite - New iron carbide mineral, Fe5C2, identified in iron meteorite is named after Dr. Edward R. D. Scott.
AUG 2019
Rolling Stones on Mars - Researchers use orbital images to document active geologic activity–boulder movement–on steep slopes of high-latitude Martian craters.
JUNE 2019
Understanding Volatile Element Loss in Meteorites and their Parent Asteroids - Laboratory heating experiments track the release of labile elements in meteorite samples to better understand asteroid evolution, with relevance to future handling of samples returned from asteroid Bennu.
JUNE 2019
Geosciences Journal—Special issue on Recent Advances in Lunar Studies -Five articles cover studies related to the Moon's formation, evolution, and exploration.
MAY 2019
Icarus Journal—Special Issue on the 1908 Tunguska Airburst - Eight articles take a modern, post-Chelyabinsk, look at the Tunguska event, covering topics also presented at a 2018 NASA workshop.
APRIL 2019
First Event Horizon Telescope Results–ApJL Focus Issue - Six articles highlight the world's first ultra-high angular resolution images of radio emission from a supermassive black hole.
MARCH 2019
Using Vanadium Isotopes to Investigate Chondrites, Earth, and Moon - Researchers investigate vanadium isotope variations in chondrite meteorites, lunar samples, and the consequences for Earth and Moon accretion.
FEB 2019
Early Martian Crust as Recorded by NWA 7533 - Researchers study pyrite in Martian meteorite to investigate chalcophile and sideophile element cycling in the early Martian crust.
FEB 2019
Davis-Ward: The Ice That Keeps on Giving Meteorites - With 865 meteorites cached in the shipping crate, the 2018-2019 Antarctic Search for Meteorites (ANSMET) field team has wrapped up a successful season on the ice.
JAN 2019
The Primordial Chemistry of Phosphorus - Research suggests volatile forms of phosphorus were not abundant or persistent in the early history of our Solar System, even in the colder regions.
JAN 2019
Lunar Orange Glass Beads - Lava droplets likely cooled in a short-lived atmosphere of gases released locally from a volcanic eruption on the Moon.
JAN 2019
2019: International Year of the Periodic Table - Recognizing the 150th anniversary of the valuable Periodic Table of Chemical Elements.
DEC 2018
Young Craters with Really Cold Regolith on the Moon - Researchers consider candidate source-craters of lunar meteorites among the cold-spot craters identified in Diviner nighttime regolith temperature maps.
NOV 2018
Assessing Venus' Clouds in the Ultraviolet - Researchers hypothesize a biological-microbial contribution to the ultraviolet spectral features in the lower clouds of Venus.
OCT 2018
Water Delivery by Impact During Planetary Accretion... and Even Now - Experiments show products of hypervelocity impacts, by carbonaceous chondrite-like projectiles, can retain water.
SEPT 2018
An Incompletely Differentiated Asteroid - The Acapulcoite-Lodranite group of meteorites provides information about different degrees of partial melting in asteroids.
SEPT 2018
The Moon's Farside Von Kármán Crater - The new, Chang'E-4 mission to the Moon plans to bring a lander and a rover for the first time to the lunar farside.
AUG 2018
Observing the First Interstellar Object in our Solar System - From its brief passage through our Solar System, data collected on the interstellar, comet-like object named ‘Oumuamua can help us learn more about our universe.
JUNE 2018
What Cycling Temperatures Have To Do With Making Regolith on Asteroids - Meteorite experiments and numerical models show how cracks grow along grain boundaries during thermal cycling, leading to disaggregated rocks and regolith on asteroids.
MAY 2018
A Spectral Study of Least-processed Carbonaceous Chondrites - 1.4- and 21-µm features are distinctive infrared identifiers of least-processed meteorites from all chemical groups of carbonaceous chondrites; Asteroid (93) Minerva has a similar near-infrared spectrum.
APRIL 2018
Microtektites - Microtektites from a glacial moraine near Larkman Nunatak, Antarctica are related to the Australasian strewn field.
APRIL 2018
Meteoritics & Planetary Science Journal—Special Issue on Impact Cratering - Articles in the April 2018 issue cover work presented at the May 2015 Workshop on Issues in Crater Studies and the Dating of Planetary Surfaces.
APRIL 2018
Icarus Journal—Special Issue on Asteroids and Space Debris - Articles in the April 2018 issue cover research on asteroids.
FEB 2018
ANSMET 2017-2018 Field Season - 263 meteorites collected for scientific study from the icefields surrounding Grosvenor Mountains and headwaters of Amundsen Glacier, Antarctica.
FEB 2018
Impact Cratering on Porous Asteroids - Experiments and modeling show how large-scale impacts into highly porous targets form craters mostly by compaction.
JAN 2018
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta—Astrophysical Implications of Extraterrestrial Materials: A Special Issue for Ernst K. Zinner - A scientific tribute to Ernst K. Zinner.
JAN 2018
Boron Found in Martian Meteorites and in situ in Gale Crater - The discovery of in situ, water-soluble boron on Mars enables researchers to better track the history of Martian aqueous activity, habitability, and the potential for development of life.
NOV 2017
Bounty of Iron Meteorites Found on Mars - Six specimens now have official names and designation as meteorites found on Mars.
NOV 2017
Harrison H. Schmitt's "Apollo 17: Diary of the 12th Man" - The Astronaut's personal account of the Apollo 17 Mission.
OCT 2017
Apollo 17 at Taurus-Littrow: New Perspectives from the Geologist in situ - Taking the lead of a multi-dataset, comprehensive study of the geology of the lunar valley of Taurus-Littrow is the first geologist who worked there.
OCT 2017
Hafnium-tungsten Isotopes - The elements hafnium and tungsten are marvels when it comes to studying the timescales of planetary accretion, differentiation, and core formation.
JULY 2017
Total Solar Eclipse – August 21, 2017 - The Moon's topography affects the shape of its shadow on Earth's surface during a solar eclipse, plus other information about August's total solar eclipse.
JULY 2017
More on the Building Blocks of Planet Earth - Isotopic data from meteorites are used in the search for Earth-forming materials.
JUNE 2017
New Mineral: Rubinite - New refractory mineral, Ca3Ti3+2Si3O12, discovered in CV3 chondrites is named after Dr. Alan Rubin.
MAY 2017
Flux of O+ Ions from Earth to the Moon - Terrestrial O+ ions escape to the lunar surface when Earth's magnetosphere blocks the Moon from the solar wind.
APRIL 2017
Life Span of the Solar Nebula - Researchers mark the end of the solar nebula by studying remanent magnetism preserved in angrite meteorites.
MARCH 2017
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta—Special Issue on Isotopic Studies of Planetary and Nuclear Materials - A scientific tribute to Ian Douglass Hutcheon.
MARCH 2017
Ceres Has Organics - Scientists make the first unambiguous detection of organic compounds on a main asteroid belt body from Dawn orbital data.
FEB 2017
Found: Attractive Blue Ice and 219 Meteorites - Report of the 2016-2017 ANSMET team's season in the Elephant Moraine (EET) icefields of Antarctica.
FEB 2017
Formal Names for Pluto's Geological Features - The International Astronomical Union, in conjunction with the New Horizons mission team, has approved themes to be used to name surface features on dwarf planet, or planet, Pluto.
FEB 2017
New Mineral: Machiite - New ultra-refractory mineral, Al2Ti3O9, discovered in Murchison meteorite is named after Dr. Chi Ma.
JAN 2017
When Achondrites Surpassed Ordinary Chondrites in the Meteorite Flux to Earth - Before the breakup of the L-chondrite parent body, achondrites rained down on the Middle Ordovician Earth.
JAN 2017
Lava Flow Look-a-Likes - Impact melt flows on the Moon are formed by the high pressures of shock and melting of rock during an impact event. Once solidified they look like lava flows yet have unique surface roughness characteristics.
DEC 2016
The Idea of Hematite Formation on Mars Through Photo-Oxidation - Results from photo-oxidation experiments lead to a model for hematite on early Mars.
NOV 2016
Revealing the Secrets of Asteroid Melting by Precise Oxygen Isotopic Analyses - High precision oxygen isotopic studies show the relationships among different meteorite groups.
NOV 2016
Modeling the Effects of a Giant Planet Instability in the Early Solar System - Numerical model shows how primordial planetesimals that once existed beyond the orbit of Neptune may be found in the inner asteroid belt. Could the Tagish Lake meteorite be such a sample?
NOV 2016
LEAG—Bernard Ray Hawke Next Lunar Generation Career Development Award - Sponsored by SSERVI, travel funds awarded to early career scientists and engineers to participate in LEAG meetings honor Dr. Hawke's legacy.
OCT 2016
Measuring and Modeling the Structure of the Best-Preserved Impact Basin on the Moon - Orientale basin formation and structure interpreted with GRAIL gravity data and quantitative modeling.
OCT 2016
Asteroids Up Close - Remote sensing, returned samples from asteroid missions, and meteorites all help us better understand asteroids.
OCT 2016
A Classic Returns - IMPACT! eBook novel tells a story centering around the threat of a big Earth-crossing asteroid that is heading right at us.
SEPT 2016
Explaining CO2 Inside the Snowline - Laboratory experiments determine CO2 adsorption onto carbonaceous chondrite meteorites with implications for the presence of CO2 in the non-ice materials on the satellites of Jupiter.
SEPT 2016
Icarus Journal—Mars Science Discoveries from Surface and Orbital Information - Eight articles inside the December 2016 issue look at Mars at multiple scales: MicroMars to MegaMars.
SEPT 2016
Science Journal—Results using Dawn Image and Spectral Data from Dwarf-planet Ceres - Six papers in the September 2, 2016 issue of Science cover Dawn Results from Ceres.
AUG 2016
Groovy Imbrium - Origin and implications of grooves and lineations that trend non-radially from the Imbrium basin.
JULY 2016
Remnants of Earth's Construction - Tungsten isotopic data from modern flood basalts show that regions of Earth's mantle have remained chemically isolated since they formed during accretion of the planet.
JUNE 2016
Elements Magazine—Special Issue on Cosmic Dust - Six articles and the CosmoElements page in the June 2016 issue cover cosmic dust.
MAY 2016
An Improved Calibration of Reflectance Data from LOLA - An Icarus special issue presents new results from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, including LOLA data, relevant to space weathering and many other topics of interest.
APRIL 2016
Mars Gravity, Tides, and Love Number - Radio tracking data of orbiting spacecraft are used to investigate the gravity field, solid tides, and the Love number on Mars.
FEB 2016
Iron Meteorites Just Below the Icy Surface - New hypothesis says Antarctic iron meteorites could sink at a rate that offsets the local, annual upward ice flow, effectively trapping them a few tens of centimeters below the surface.
FEB 2016
ANSMET 2015-2016 North to South in the Miller Range, Antarctica - Successful season recovering meteorites for scientific study.
FEB 2016
Space Weathering on the Moon–By Degrees Latitude - Researchers propose that reduced solar wind flux toward higher latitudes is the reason for systematic near-infrared spectral variations in lunar maria.
JAN 2016
Comprehending Asteroids - Understanding asteroids through the effective blend of laboratory analyses of meteorites and samples and data obtained with asteroid missions.
DEC 2015
Impacting the Properties of Asteroids - Researchers assess damaged and deformed chondrules in a meteorite to understand the impact-induced changes on chondrite parent bodies.
DEC 2015
Probing Bulk Magma Compositions of Mars - Using small melt inclusions in olivine crystals in the Tissint meteorite to investigate bulk magma compositions of Mars.
OCT 2015
Target: Schrödinger Basin - Impact melt rocks collected from Schrödinger Basin could reveal the age of the Moon's South Pole-Aitken basin.
AUG 2015
Impact Jetting: Very Quick Looks at Jet Velocities - Ultrafast imaging of high-velocity experimental impact collisions are allowing new measurements of the ejection velocities of jetted material.
JULY 2015
The Shocking Price of Escape Velocity - Correlating the percentage of maskelynite-bearing samples in a basaltic-meteorite group with parent-body escape velocity.
JULY 2015
First Discovery of a High-pressure Polymorph of Silica in an Apollo Sample - Though stishovite was identified previously in lunar meteorites, this is the first detection of stishovite in an Apollo sample.
JULY 2015
Icarus Journal—Special Issue on Lunar Volatiles - Articles in the July 15, 2015 issue cover research presented at a virtual workshop focusing on recent advances in understanding water and other volatiles on the Moon.
MAY 2015
Modeling Water Adsorption on Olivine Crystals in the Solar Nebula - Modeling results suggest a pathway for the formation of phyllosilicates, which could have been accreted into Earth.
MAY 2015
Making an Argument Against the Late Veneer Hypothesis for Mars - HSE contents in the mantle of Mars are due to a long process of equilibration during the planet's growth, influenced by the combined effects of pressure, temperature, and core composition.
MARCH 2015
New Book Published on 35 Seasons of U.S. Antarctic Meteorites - Ten chapters and 80 color plates showcase the efforts to collect, curate, and analyze these extraterrestrial samples.
FEB 2015
Circumstances of Cubanite in a Comet and Asteroid - Laboratory synthesis of copper-iron sulfide helps establish conditions of its formation.
FEB 2015
Elements Magazine—Issue on the Mineralogy of Mars - Six articles inside the February 2015 issue look at Mars with Curiosity rover data.
FEB 2015
ANSMET 2014-2015 Field Season at Davis-Ward, Antarctica - The team sets a record with 172 meteorites collected in a single day.
JAN 2015
Mineralogical–Spectral Details of Meteorites Shed Light on Dark Asteroids - CM and CI chondrites are used to interpret aqueous alteration on asteroids.
DEC 2014
Discovery of Bridgmanite in the Tenham L6 Chondrite - Meteorites teach us about the Earth.
NOV 2014
Tracking Asteroids—Watching the Sky—Searching for Meteorites - NASA's Near-Earth Object observation program released a new global map of meteor strikes plus ANSMET begins a new season of searching for meteorites in Antarctica.
NOV 2014
Extraordinary View of a Star and its Protoplanetary Disk - Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array image captures protoplanetary disk.
OCT 2014
Presolar Graphite Grain Isolated from a Carbonaceous Chondrite - Isotopic and microstructural investigations of a unique low-density supernova graphite grain.
SEPT 2014
Meteoritics & Planetary Science—More Cosmochemical Details of Interstellar Dust from the Stardust Mission - More results of the analyses of interstellar dust particles collected in the aerogel and aluminum foil of NASA's Stardust mission.
AUG 2014
Contemporary Interstellar Dust in the Lab - Stardust scientists and the Stardust@home dusters find seven particles of probable interstellar origin.
JULY 2014
Partition Coefficients in Fe-rich Systems: Relevance to the Lunar Mantle - Experiments help us learn about partial melting in the geochemically heterogeneous lunar mantle.
JULY 2014
Invoking a Hit-and-Run Collisional Origin for Planet Mercury - Grazing collisions between proto-Mercury and a larger body can explain Mercury's massive metallic core and thin rocky mantle.
JULY 2014
Investigating Particle Clumping in Microgravity - Educational demonstrations on the International Space Station are relevant to studies of the growth of asteroids and planets.
JUNE 2014
Meteors Generate Radio Emissions - Observations of bright radio emission are correlated to large, energetic meteors.
APRIL 2014
Felsic Crust Formation - Iron isotope compositions of paired meteorites GRA 06128 and 06129 help to explain a formation mechanism for iron-sulfide-rich felsic melts.
APRIL 2014
Investigating Q and Noble Gases in Meteorites - Nano-scale analyses on a carbon-rich, acid-resistant residue of the Saratov (L4) meteorite.
APRIL 2014
Laboratory Experiments to Understand the Chemical Origin of the Solar System - Looking at lithium concentration and isotope fractionation in augite grains.
MARCH 2014
Elements Magazine—Special Issue on Asteroids - Six articles and the CosmoElements page in the February 2014 issue cover asteroid targets and sampling.
FEB 2014
ANSMET 2013-2014 Field Season in the Miller Range, Antarctica - 333 meteorites collected for scientific study.
FEB 2014
Presolar Oxide Grains: A Study of Spinels - Measurements of elemental and isotopic compositions and microstructural properties of presolar grains.
JAN 2014
The First Rock Ages Returned from the Surface of Mars - Measurements by NASA's Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover help scientists determine the age of a mudstone at Gale crater.
DEC 2013
Titanium Variations in Mare Basalts at the Chang'e-3 Landing Site on the Moon - A look at the landing site of Yutu (Jade-Rabbit), China's Moon rover.
DEC 2013
Eden Patera, Mars—New Category of Ancient Martian Volcanism? - New study suggests plains-style caldera complexes in Arabia Terra.
NOV 2013
World Notice: 10,000 Near-Earth Objects and Details About One That Landed in Russia - International space agencies, observatories, and the United Nations plan to coordinate NEO efforts.
SEPT 2013
Composition of the Rocknest Deposit, Gale Crater, Mars - Coupled with laboratory data on Martian meteorites, Curiosity rover analyses give a much fuller picture of the geological and geochemical evolution of the Martian surface.
SEPT 2013
The Organics in Sutter's Mill Meteorite - Soluble and insoluble organic materials in a recently fallen CM chondrite—what they possibly mean to the development of prebiotic organics on the early Earth.
AUG 2013
Absolute Ages of Mercury's Surface - Determining the absolute ages of Mercury's oldest surfaces to bracket the bombardment and volcanic histories of the closest planet to the Sun.
JULY 2013
Dmisteinbergite: Refractory Mineral in Allende FUN CAI - Hexagonal CaAl2Si2O8 likely crystallized from a silicate melt at high temperature by rapid cooling.
MARCH 2013
Studying the Most Primitive Extraterrestrial Dust - Isotopic compositions and presolar grain abundances from interplanetary dust particles.
FEB 2013
The Surprise Meteorite Fall in Russia, February, 2013 - The meteoroid, meteor, and ordinary chondrite in Chelyabinsk in the news.
FEB 2013
ANSMET 2012-2013 Field Season Yields New Meteorite Samples - Hundreds of new specimens will be available for research.
FEB 2013
Meteoritics & Planetary Science Journal–Special Issue - Articles in the December 2012 issue cover cosmochemical research presented at the 2011 Workshop on Formation of the First Solids in the Solar System.
JAN 2013
Chondrule Formation - Data from oxygen-isotopic compositions and oxidation states of chondrule olivines in CR chondrites.
OCT 2012
Discovery of Native Mercury and Mercury Sulfide in Tieschitz Meteorite - Microbeads of native Hg indicate cold accretion.
SEPT 2012
Volatiles on Vesta - Implications for the hydrogen detected on Vesta with data from NASA's Dawn spacecraft.
AUG 2012
Mantle of Mars - Insights to the interior of Mars: theme of an upcoming workshop in Houston, TX and a newly selected NASA geophysical mission.
JULY 2012
Lunar Rock Densities - Measuring rock properties of density and porosity for geophysical modeling of the Moon.
JULY 2012
Water, Carbonaceous Chondrites, and Earth - The drive continues to understand all the possible sources of Earth's water.
JUNE 2012
Olympic-caliber Mineral Finder - A new mineral, panguite, formed during the birth of our Solar System has been found in the Allende meteorite.
MAY 2012
Space Station Crew Answers Question about Micrometeorites - On the day Space Station astronauts opened the hatch and entered the SpaceX Dragon capsule for the first time, PSRD asked: how does micrometeorite bombardment affect spacecraft?
MAY 2012
Weathered Glass on Mars - Extensive deposits of weathered, glassy sediments suggest widespread explosive volcanism and late-stage surface alteration by water.
APRIL 2012
Meteoritics & Planetary Science Journal–Special Issue - Nineteen articles in the April 2012 issue cover cosmochemical results from the Stardust Mission to Comet Wild 2.
APRIL 2012
Earth's Temporary Minimoons - Asteroids temporarily orbiting Earth follow a wild route before they exit. Could they someday be mined?
APRIL 2012
Why the Definition of Crystal Changed - The discovery of quasicrystals revolutionized the science of crystal chemistry, and one of them shows evidence of an extraterrestrial origin.
FEB 2012
ANSMET 2011-2012 Field Season in the Miller Range, Antarctica - 302 meteorites collected for scientific study.
JAN 2012
A Summer Fall - Martian meteorite, Tissint, fell in Morocco in July, 2011 and pieces are now being analyzed by cosmochemists.
JAN 2012
Soluble Organics of the Bells Meteorite - An inventory of prebiotic, soluble organic compounds in an anomalous CM chondrite.
DEC 2011
It's Not All Basalt on the Moon: Another Kind of Volcanic Rock - Looking at non-mare silicic volcanism.
NOV 2011
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences–Cosmochemistry Special Feature - Nine articles inside the November 2011 issue cover cosmochemical research.
OCT 2011
Earth's Heat - It is now possible to measure the radiogenic heat production inside Earth, previously estimated from element ratios in chondritic meteorites.
SEPT 2011
Cosmochemical Building Blocks called GEMS - The unfolding story of grains of _G_lass with _E_mbedded _M_etal and _S_ulfides found in interplanetary dust particles.
JULY 2011
Shooting Iron Sulfides into Aluminum Foil to Better Understand Comet Wild 2 - Laboratory simulations of impacts on Stardust Al foils.
JULY 2011
Vesta and the Vestoids - Insights to Vesta's crust, before the Dawn mission's close look at the asteroid.
JUNE 2011
Looking After and Preserving NASA's Extraterrestrial Samples - The work of NASA's Astromaterials Acquisition and Curation Office.
JUNE 2011
A Meteorite with Up and Down Markers - Metal-sulfide nodules and vesicles aligned in asteroid's gravitational field.
MAY 2011
Discovery of New Mineral, Krotite, in a CAI - CaAl2O4 named after Dr. Alexander N. Krot.
APRIL 2011
The Role of H2S in Amino Acid Synthesis on Primordial Earth and Elsewhere - Intriguingly similar abundances of amino acids from historic lab samples and carbonaceous chondrites.
MARCH 2011
Planetary Science Decadal Survey - Vision and voyages for planetary science in the decade 2013-2022.
MARCH 2011
Elements Magazine–Special Issue on Cosmochemistry - Seven articles inside the February 2011 issue cover cosmochemical research.
FEB 2011
1,203 More Antarctic Meteorites Bound for Study - The 2010-2011 ANSMET team's collection.
FEB 2011
Asteroid Itokawa Samples - Hayabusa Mission results show definitive evidence for LL chondrite compositions of minerals in Itokawa Samples.
DEC 2010
Asteroid Tracked--Meteorites Found! - The unfolding story of meteorite Almahata Sitta is covered in the Oct/Nov 2010 issue of Meteoritics & Planetary Science journal.
OCT 2010
An Icy Treat - Water ice confirmed on the Moon.
OCT 2010
Stardust--Snapshots of Stars - Automated NanoSIMS Measurements of Spinel Stardust.
SEPT 2010
Brownleeite: The First New Mineral Identified From a Comet - Manganese silicide discovered in an IDP named after Dr. Donald E. Brownlee.
AUG 2010
Putting a Damper on the Damp Moon - Measurements of chlorine isotopes in lunar samples.
JULY 2010
Controlling Contamination Before, During, and After Spaceflight - NASA Stardust Mission.
JULY 2010
Messing with an Onion - Cooling of the H-chondrite parent body.
In July, 2010 we began creating CosmoSparks reports to bring you quick views of big advances in cosmochemistry.