Collisional history of asteroid Itokawa

In situ extraterrestrial samples returned for study (e.g., from the Moon) are crucial in understanding the origin and evolution of the Solar System as, contrary to meteorites, they provide a known geological context for the samples and their analyses. Asteroid 25143 Itokawa is a rubble-pile asteroid...

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Main Authors: Jourdan, Fred, Timms, Nicholas Eric, Eroglu, Ela, Mayers, C., Frew, A., Bland, Phil, Collins, G., Davison, T., Abe, M., Yada, T.
Format: Journal Article
Published: Geological Society of America 2017
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/56741
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author Jourdan, Fred
Timms, Nicholas Eric
Eroglu, Ela
Mayers, C.
Frew, A.
Bland, Phil
Collins, G.
Davison, T.
Abe, M.
Yada, T.
author_facet Jourdan, Fred
Timms, Nicholas Eric
Eroglu, Ela
Mayers, C.
Frew, A.
Bland, Phil
Collins, G.
Davison, T.
Abe, M.
Yada, T.
author_sort Jourdan, Fred
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description In situ extraterrestrial samples returned for study (e.g., from the Moon) are crucial in understanding the origin and evolution of the Solar System as, contrary to meteorites, they provide a known geological context for the samples and their analyses. Asteroid 25143 Itokawa is a rubble-pile asteroid consisting of reaccumulated fragments from a catastrophically disrupted monolithic parent asteroid, and from which regolith dust particles have been recovered by the Hayabusa space probe (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency). We analyzed two dust particles using electron backscatter diffraction and 40 Ar/ 39 Ar dating techniques. One of the grains, showing signs of 15-25 GPa impact shock pressure, yielded a 40 Ar/ 39 Ar plateau age of 2.3 ± 0.1 Ga. We developed a novel temperature-pressure-porosity model, coupled with diffusion models to show that the relatively low pressure and high temperature involved in the impact process can be reconciled only if the asteroid was already made of porous material at ca. 2.3 Ga and, thus, if asteroid Itokawa was already formed, thereby providing a minimum age for catastrophic asteroid breakup. A second particle shows no sign of deformation, indicating shock pressure of < 10 GPa and a calculated maximum temperature of ~200 °C. This low temperature estimate is compatible with a lack of isotopic resetting for this particle. This suggests that the breakup of Itokawa's parent was a relatively low-temperature process at the scale of the asteroid, and occurred on a pre-shattered parent body.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-567412018-02-06T06:51:11Z Collisional history of asteroid Itokawa Jourdan, Fred Timms, Nicholas Eric Eroglu, Ela Mayers, C. Frew, A. Bland, Phil Collins, G. Davison, T. Abe, M. Yada, T. In situ extraterrestrial samples returned for study (e.g., from the Moon) are crucial in understanding the origin and evolution of the Solar System as, contrary to meteorites, they provide a known geological context for the samples and their analyses. Asteroid 25143 Itokawa is a rubble-pile asteroid consisting of reaccumulated fragments from a catastrophically disrupted monolithic parent asteroid, and from which regolith dust particles have been recovered by the Hayabusa space probe (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency). We analyzed two dust particles using electron backscatter diffraction and 40 Ar/ 39 Ar dating techniques. One of the grains, showing signs of 15-25 GPa impact shock pressure, yielded a 40 Ar/ 39 Ar plateau age of 2.3 ± 0.1 Ga. We developed a novel temperature-pressure-porosity model, coupled with diffusion models to show that the relatively low pressure and high temperature involved in the impact process can be reconciled only if the asteroid was already made of porous material at ca. 2.3 Ga and, thus, if asteroid Itokawa was already formed, thereby providing a minimum age for catastrophic asteroid breakup. A second particle shows no sign of deformation, indicating shock pressure of < 10 GPa and a calculated maximum temperature of ~200 °C. This low temperature estimate is compatible with a lack of isotopic resetting for this particle. This suggests that the breakup of Itokawa's parent was a relatively low-temperature process at the scale of the asteroid, and occurred on a pre-shattered parent body. 2017 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/56741 10.1130/G39138.1 Geological Society of America restricted
spellingShingle Jourdan, Fred
Timms, Nicholas Eric
Eroglu, Ela
Mayers, C.
Frew, A.
Bland, Phil
Collins, G.
Davison, T.
Abe, M.
Yada, T.
Collisional history of asteroid Itokawa
title Collisional history of asteroid Itokawa
title_full Collisional history of asteroid Itokawa
title_fullStr Collisional history of asteroid Itokawa
title_full_unstemmed Collisional history of asteroid Itokawa
title_short Collisional history of asteroid Itokawa
title_sort collisional history of asteroid itokawa
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/56741