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Mesosiderites on Vesta: A Hyperspectral VIS-NIR InvestigationThe discussion about the mesosiderite origin is an open issue since several years. Mesosiderites are mixtures of silicate mineral fragments or clasts, embedded in a FeNi metal matrix. Silicates are very similar in mineralogy and texture to howardites [1]. This led some scientists to conclude that mesosiderites could come from the same parent parent asteroid of the howardite, eucrite and diogenite (HED) meteorites [2, 3]. Other studies found a number of differences between HEDs and mesosiderite silicates that could be explained only by separate parent asteroids [4]. Recently, high precision oxygen isotope measurements of m esosiderites silicate fraction were found to be isotopically identical to the HEDs, requiring common parent body, i.e. 4 Vesta [5]. Another important element in favor of a common origin was given by the identification of a centimeter-sized mesosiderite clast in a howardite (Dar al Gani 779): a metal-rich inclusion with fragments of olivine, anorthite, and orthopyroxene plus minor amounts of chromite, tridymite, and troilite [6]. The Dawn mission with its instruments, the Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIR) [7], the Framing Camera [8] and the Gamma-Ray and Neutron Detector (GRaND) [9] confirmed that Vesta has a composition fully compatible with HED meteorites [10]. We investigate here the possibility to discern mesosiderite rich locations on the surface of Vesta by means of hyperspectral IR images.
Document ID
20130011106
Acquisition Source
Johnson Space Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Palomba, E. (Istituto di Astrofisica Spaziale e Fisica Cosmica (INAF-IASF) Rome, Italy)
Longobardo, A. (Istituto di Astrofisica Spaziale e Fisica Cosmica (INAF-IASF) Rome, Italy)
DeSanctis, M. C. (Istituto di Astrofisica Spaziale e Fisica Cosmica (INAF-IASF) Rome, Italy)
Mittlefehldt, D. W. (NASA Johnson Space Center Houston, TX, United States)
Ammannito, E. (Istituto di Astrofisica Spaziale e Fisica Cosmica (INAF-IASF) Rome, Italy)
Capaccioni, F. (Istituto di Astrofisica Spaziale e Fisica Cosmica (INAF-IASF) Rome, Italy)
Capria, M. T. (Istituto di Astrofisica Spaziale e Fisica Cosmica (INAF-IASF) Rome, Italy)
Frigeri, A. (Istituto di Astrofisica Spaziale e Fisica Cosmica (INAF-IASF) Rome, Italy)
Tosi, F. (Istituto di Astrofisica Spaziale e Fisica Cosmica (INAF-IASF) Rome, Italy)
Zambon, F. (Istituto di Astrofisica Spaziale e Fisica Cosmica (INAF-IASF) Rome, Italy)
Russell, C. T. (California Univ. Los Angeles, CA, United States)
Raymond, C. A. (California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Date Acquired
August 27, 2013
Publication Date
March 18, 2013
Subject Category
Geophysics
Report/Patent Number
JSC-CN-28140
Meeting Information
Meeting: Lunar and PlanetaryScience Conference
Location: The Woodlands, TX
Country: United States
Start Date: March 18, 2013
End Date: March 22, 2013
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.

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