Planetary Science and Resources Discoveries

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.

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Archive of Asteroid Articles

Articles listed by publication date.

DATE POSTED

HEADLINE ARTICLES

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DEC 2019 Bennu–Active Asteroid
by Linda M. V. Martel
CosmoSparks Report - Particle ejection events from the surface of asteroid Bennu are studied with OSIRIS-REx imaging data and modeling to try to find plausible explanations.
pdf link, Bennu, active asteroid
NOV 2019 Building the Case for a New CY Group of Carbonaceous Chondrites
by Linda M. V. Martel
CosmoSparks Report - 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.
pdf link, New CY Group of CC
JUNE 2019 Understanding Volatile Element Loss in Meteorites and their Parent Asteroids
by Linda M. V. Martel
CosmoSparks Report - 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.
pdf link, Volatile Element Loss
24 MAY 2019 Active Asteroids
by Linda M. V. Martel
Researchers document the stunning effects of disintegrating asteroids to learn more about their dusty debris tails and the processes causing them to happen.
pdf link, Active Asteroids
SEPT 2018 An Incompletely Differentiated Asteroid
by G. Jeffrey Taylor
CosmoSparks Report - The Acapulcoite-Lodranite group of meteorites provides information about different degrees of partial melting in asteroids.
pdf link, Incompletely Differentiated Asteroid
10 AUG 2018 The Oldest Volcanic Meteorite: A Silica-Rich Lava on a Geologically Complex Planetesimal
by G. Jeffrey Taylor
A volcanic meteorite is the oldest igneous meteorite identified so far, erupting onto its parent body only about 3 million years after the Solar System began to form.
pdf link, The Oldest Volcanic Meteorite: A Silica-Rich Lava on a Geologically Complex Planetesimal
JUNE 2018 What Cycling Temperatures Have To Do With Making Regolith on Asteroids
by Linda M. V. Martel
CosmoSparks Report - Meteorite experiments and numerical models show how cracks grow along grain boundaries during thermal cycling, leading to disaggregated rocks and regolith on asteroids.
pdf link, What Cycling Temperatures Have To Do With Making Regolith on Asteroids
MAY 2018 A Spectral Study of Least-processed Carbonaceous Chondrites
by Linda M. V. Martel
CosmoSparks Report - 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.
pdf link, Spectral Study of Least-processed CO3s
APRIL 2018 Icarus Journal—Special Issue on Asteroids and Space Debris
by Linda M. V. Martel
CosmoSparks Report - Articles in the April 2018 issue cover research on asteroids.
pdf link, Icarus journal special issue
FEB 2018 Impact Cratering on Porous Asteroids
by Linda M. V. Martel
CosmoSparks Report - Experiments and modeling show how large-scale impacts into highly porous targets form craters mostly by compaction.
pdf link, compaction cratering
MARCH 2017 Ceres Has Organics
by Linda M. V. Martel
CosmoSparks Report - Scientists make the first unambiguous detection of organic compounds on a main asteroid belt body from Dawn orbital data.
pdf link, Ceres Has Organics
JAN 2017 When Achondrites Surpassed Ordinary Chondrites in the Meteorite Flux to Earth
by Linda M. V. Martel
CosmoSparks Report - Before the breakup of the L-chondrite parent body, achondrites rained down on the Middle Ordovician Earth.
pdf link, Middle Ordovician meteorite flux
NOV 2016 Revealing the Secrets of Asteroid Melting by Precise Oxygen Isotopic Analyses
by G. Jeffrey Taylor
CosmoSparks Report - High precision oxygen isotopic studies show the relationships among different meteorite groups.
pdf link, High precision oxygen isotopic studies
NOV 2016 Modeling the Effects of a Giant Planet Instability in the Early Solar System
by Linda M. V. Martel
CosmoSparks Report - 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?
pdf link, Modeling Giant Planet Instability
OCT 2016 Asteroids Up Close
by Linda M. V. Martel
CosmoSparks Report - Remote sensing, returned samples from asteroid missions, and meteorites all help us better understand asteroids.
pdf link, Asteroids Up Close
OCT 2016 A Classic Returns
by Linda M. V. Martel
CosmoSparks Report - IMPACT! eBook novel tells a story centering around the threat of a big Earth-crossing asteroid that is heading right at us.
pdf link, Impact! eBook
JAN 2016 Comprehending Asteroids
by Linda M. V. Martel
CosmoSparks Report - Understanding asteroids through the effective blend of laboratory analyses of meteorites and samples and data obtained with asteroid missions.
pdf link, Comprehending Asteroids
DEC 2015 Impacting the Properties of Asteroids
by Linda M. V. Martel
CosmoSparks Report - Researchers assess damaged and deformed chondrules in a meteorite to understand the impact-induced changes on chondrite parent bodies.
pdf link, Impacting the Properties of Asteroids
JULY 2015 The Shocking Price of Escape Velocity
by Linda M. V. Martel
CosmoSparks Report - Correlating the percentage of maskelynite-bearing samples in a basaltic-meteorite group with parent-body escape velocity.
pdf link, The Shocking Price of Escape Velocity
29 JUNE 2015 Chondritic Asteroids–When Did Aqueous Alteration Happen?
by Patricia M. Doyle
New dates determined for aqueous alteration on chondritic parent bodies, based on a new mineral standard, have big implications on the timing and location of accretion.
pdf link, Chondritic Asteroids--When did Aqueous Alteration Happen?
FEB 2015 Circumstances of Cubanite in a Comet and Asteroid
by Linda M. V. Martel
CosmoSparks Report - Laboratory synthesis of copper-iron sulfide helps establish conditions of its formation.
pdf link, Cubanite in a Comet and Asteroid
28 JAN 2015 Water in Asteroid 4 Vesta
by G. Jeffrey Taylor
The big, melted asteroid 4 Vesta provides clues to the source of water to Earth and Mars.
pdf link, Water in Asteroid 4 Vesta
JAN 2015 Mineralogical-Spectral Details of Meteorites Shed Light on Dark Asteroids
by Linda M. V. Martel
CosmoSparks Report - CM and CI chondrites are used to interpret aqueous alteration on asteroids.
pdf link, mineralogy-MIR meteorites
NOV 2014 Asteroids—Watching the Sky—Searching for Meteorites
by Linda M. V. Martel
CosmoSparks Report - 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.
pdf link, meteor map plus meteorites
MARCH 2014 Elements Magazine—Special Issue on Asteroids
by Linda M. V. Martel
CosmoSparks Report - Six articles and the CosmoElements page in the February 2014 issue cover asteroid targets and sampling.
pdf link, Asteroids
NOV 2013 World Notice: 10,000 Near-Earth Objects and Details About One That Landed in Russia
by Linda M. V. Martel
CosmoSparks Report - International space agencies, observatories, and the United Nations plan to coordinate NEO efforts.
pdf link, Near-Earth Objects
30 APRIL 2013 Meteoritic Minerals Tell a Story of Multistage Cooling, Break-up, and Reassembly of an Asteroid
by G. Jeffrey Taylor
Compositional variations in minerals in H-chondrites indicate at least two vastly different cooling rates at different temperatures, suggesting fragmentation, cooling of the fragments, and reassembly into a second-generation rubble pile.
pdf link, Meteoritic Minerals Tell a Story of Multistage Cooling, Break-up, and Reassembly of an Asteroid
FEB 2013 The Surprise Meteorite Fall in Russia, February, 2013
by Linda M. V. Martel
CosmoSparks Report - The meteoroid, meteor, and ordinary chondrite in Chelyabinsk in the news.
pdf link, Chelyabinsk
SEPT 2012 Volatiles on Vesta
by Linda M. V. Martel
CosmoSparks Report - Implications for the hydrogen detected on Vesta with data from NASA's Dawn spacecraft.
pdf link, Volatiles on Vesta
APRIL 2012 Earth's Temporary Minimoons
by Linda M. V. Martel
CosmoSparks Report - Asteroids temporarily orbiting Earth follow a wild route before they exit. Could they someday be mined?
pdf link, Earth's Temporary Minimoons
31 AUG 2011 Samples from Asteroid Itokawa
by G. Jeffrey Taylor and Linda M. V. Martel
Samples returned from asteroid Itokawa by the Hayabusa mission provide ground truth for astronomical observations and reveal that the little asteroid is eroding at a rate of tens of centimeters per million years.
pdf link, Samples from Asteroid Itokawa
JULY 2011 Vesta and the Vestoids
by Linda M. V. Martel
CosmoSparks Report - Insights to Vesta's crust, before the Dawn mission's close look at the asteroid.
pdf link, Vesta and the Vestoids
7 APRIL 2011 Wet, Carbonaceous Asteroids: Altering Minerals, Changing Amino Acids
by G. Jeffrey Taylor
Aqueous alteration in asteroids containing organic compounds leads to formation of hydrous minerals and changes in the mix of amino acids.
pdf link, Wet, Carbonaceous Asteroids: Altering Minerals, Changing Amino Acids
FEB 2011 Asteroid Itokawa Samples
by Linda M. V. Martel
CosmoSparks Report - Hayabusa Mission results show definitive evidence for LL chondrite compositions of minerals in Itokawa Samples.
pdf link, Asteroid Itokawa Samples
DEC 2010 Asteroid Tracked -- Meteorites Found!
by Linda M. V. Martel
CosmoSparks Report - The unfolding story of meteorite Almahata Sitta.
pdf link, Asteroid Tracked -- Meteorites Found!
JULY 2010 Messing with an Onion
by G. Jeffrey Taylor
CosmoSparks Report - Cooling of the H-chondrite parent body.
pdf link, Messing with an Onion
30 APRIL 2010 Asteroid, Meteor, Meteorite
by Linda M. V. Martel
Detected in space less than a day before hitting Earth, the Almahata Sitta meteorite from asteroid 2008 TC3 gives clues to the complex evolution of small asteroids.
pdf link, Asteroid, Meteor, Meteorite
10 AUG 09 Space Weathering Agent: Solar Wind
by Linda M. V. Martel
Bombardment of helium ions on olivine in the laboratory simulates space weathering of asteroids and other airless bodies.
pdf link, Space Weathering Agent: Solar Wind
25 JUNE 09 The Complicated Geologic History of Asteroid 4 Vesta
by G. Jeffrey Taylor
Meteorites from asteroid 4 Vesta show that it contains patches of granite-like rock.
pdf link, The Complicated Geologic History of Asteroid 4 Vesta
19 FEB 09 More Evidence for Multiple Meteorite Magmas
by G. Jeffrey Taylor
Cosmochemists show that a pair of meteorites formed in an asteroid that erupted a newly-recognized type of asteroidal magma.
pdf link, More Evidence for Multiple Meteorite Magmas
8 JULY 08 Heating, Cooling, and Cratering: One Asteroid's Complicated Story
by G. Jeffrey Taylor
Cooling rate data indicate that the H-chondrite parent asteroid was deeply cratered as it cooled slowly.
pdf link, Heating, Cooling, and Cratering: One Asteroid's Complicated Story
27 NOV 07 Getting to Know Vesta
by Linda M. V. Martel
Scientists are primed with geochemical data from HED meteorites for Dawn's encounter with asteroid 4 Vesta.
pdf link, Getting to Know Vesta
17 SEPT 07 Melted Crumbs from Asteroid Vesta
by Linda M. V. Martel
Researchers studying some of the rarest of the smallest meteorites call them melted crumbs from asteroid Vesta.
pdf link, Melted Crumbs from Asteroid Vesta
18 APRIL 07 When Worlds Really Did Collide
by Edward Scott, Jijin Yang, and Joseph Goldstein
Cosmochemical studies and dynamical models of protoplanetary collisions suggest a new origin for iron meteorites.
pdf link, When Worlds Really Did Collide
27 NOV 06 Hit-and-Run as Planets Formed
by G. Jeffrey Taylor
Collisions between large protoplanets as the planets formed may have ripped some of them to shreds, producing molten asteroid-sized bodies, driving off water and other volatiles, and scrambling partially molten protoplanets.
pdf link, Hit-and-Run as Planets Formed
21 JULY 06 Iron Meteorites as the Not-So-Distant Cousins of Earth
by William F. Bottke and Linda M. V. Martel
Numerical simulations suggest that some iron meteorites are fragments of the long lost precursor material that formed the Earth and other terrestrial planets.
pdf link, Iron Meteorites as the Not-So-Distant Cousins of Earth
2 APRIL 04 Asteroid Heating: A Shocking View
by G. Jeffrey Taylor
Mineral intergrowths in chondritic meteorites may indicate that some asteroids were heated by impact.
pdf link, Asteroid Heating: A Shocking View
9 MAR 04 Tiny Traces of a Big Asteroid Breakup
by Linda M. V. Martel
Fossil meteorites and chromite grains record a hundred-fold increase in the number of meteorites that fell 480 million years ago compared to the meteorite influx today.
pdf link, Tiny Traces of a Big Asteroid Breakup
28 APRIL 03 Asteroidal Lava Flows
by G. Jeffrey Taylor
Meteorite studies indicate that we have pieces of lava flows from at least five asteroids.
pdf link, Asteroidal Lava Flows
23 JAN 03 QUE 93148: A Part of the Mantle of Asteroid 4 Vesta?
by Christine Floss
A tiny meteorite tells a story of melting in the deep mantle of a big asteroid.
pdf link, QUE 93148 Meteorite
28 JUNE 02 Using Chondrites to Understand the Inside of Asteroid 433 Eros
by Linda M. V. Martel
Data from ordinary chondrite meteorites and from the NEAR mission suggest that asteroid 433 Eros is heavily fractured.
pdf link, Using Chondrites to Understand
 the Inside of Asteroid 433 Eros
26 FEB 02 The Composition of Asteroid 433 Eros
by G. Jeffrey Taylor
X-rays and reflected light suggest that asteroid 433 Eros is similar in composition to the most common type of meteorite--maybe.
pdf link, Composition of Asteroid 433 Eros
3 DEC 01 Oxygen Isotopes Give Clues to the Formation of Planets, Moons, and Asteroids
by Edward R. D. Scott
As they formed from gas and dust near the Sun, grains in some meteorites acquired oxygen that originated in numerous other stars that shone long before our solar system was born.
pdf link, Oxygen Isotopes
21 NOV 00 Mining the Moon, Mars, and Asteroids
by G. Jeffrey Taylor
Applied cosmochemistry plays a key role in plans to use the resources of the Moon, Mars, and asteroids.
pdf link, Mining the Moon, Mars, and Asteroids
17 DEC 99 Difficult Experiments on Weird Rocks
by G. Jeffrey Taylor
Melting experiments on oxygen-depleted meteorites give clues about magma compositions and core formation in asteroids.
pdf link, Difficult Experiments on Weird Rocks
24 AUG 99 Honeycombed Asteroids
by G. Jeffrey Taylor
Asteroids have lower densities than expected, probably because they have been disrupted and then reassembled into porous rubble piles.
pdf link, Honeycombed Asteroids
8 FEB 99 From a Cloud of Gas and Dust to an Asteroid with Percolating Hot Water
by G. Jeffrey Taylor
Isotopes of manganese and chromium indicate that chemical reactions involving hot water altered minerals on water-bearing asteroids during the same time interval that other asteroids were melted, between 7 and 16 million years after the first solids formed in the Solar System.
pdf link, From a Cloud of Gas and Dust to an Asteroid
12 NOV 98 Dry Droplets of Fiery Rain
by G. Jeffrey Taylor
Experiments test an idea for the origin of droplets of rocky material melted before the planets formed.
pdf link, Dry Droplets of Fiery Rain
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