Raman Spectroscopic Investigation of Heavy Ion Damage Induced by Focused Ion Beam in Lunar Breccias 15405, 15445 and Reference Minerals

1Radek Novotný, 1,2Gunther Kletetschka, 3Filip Košek, 4Daniela Popelková
Icarus (in Press) Open Source Link to Article [DOI: 10.1016/j.icarus.2026.117299]
1Institute of Hydrogeology, Engineering Geology and Applied Geophysics, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
2Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks, United States of America
3Institute of Geochemistry, Mineralogy and Mineral Resources, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
4Imaging Methods Laboratory, BIOCEV, Vestec, Czech republic
Copyright Elsevier

This study investigates the response of lunar breccia minerals and selected reference materials to accelerated Ga+ ion irradiation using focused ion beam (FIB) processing combined with Raman spectroscopy. Anorthite and pyroxene bearing clasts from Apollo 15 breccias 15405 and 15445 were examined alongside monocrystalline silicon, magnetite, and pyrite to evaluate mineral specific structural modifications induced by heavy ion exposure. Samples were characterized by Raman spectroscopy before and after irradiation with 30 keV Ga+ ions at four beam currents (0.43, 0.79, 2.5, and 9.3 nA). Silicate phases exhibited band broadening, peak shifts, and partial amorphization consistent with increasing lattice disorder. Monocrystalline silicon showed progressive damage of the crystalline structure, while magnetite and pyrite displayed enhanced structural disorder and modifications of Fe-bearing spectral features. At the highest irradiation conditions, Ga implantation and local heating may have contributed to the observed changes. Based on published SRIM-derived displacement estimates, the maximum Ga+ fluence applied in this study corresponds to approximately 105–106 years of natural solar wind exposure in terms of cumulative atomic displacement damage. This estimate is intended only as an approximate comparison between laboratory irradiation and natural space weathering. Although Ga+ FIB irradiation does not directly reproduce natural solar wind conditions, it provides an accelerated approach for assessing the relative susceptibility of planetary materials to heavy ion induced structural degradation and offers implications for future spectroscopic and paleomagnetic investigations of lunar samples.

Bolide Light Curve Systematics from 75 Recovered Meteorites

1,2Peter Jenniskens, 1Stuart Pilorz, 2Darrel Robertson, 2,3Eric C. Stern
Meteoritics & Planetary Science (in Press) Open Source Link to Article [DOI: 10.1111/maps.70203]
1SETI Institute, Mountain View, California, USA
2Asteroid Threat Assessment Project, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, USA
3Hyperspace Technologies, Inc., Mountain View, California, USA
Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons

How does the energy deposition profile (light curve), deceleration, and penetration depth in Earth’s atmosphere depend on asteroid composition and meteorite type? Here, we present the light curve and velocity profile of 75 bolides from camera-documented meteorite falls. The light curves as a function of altitude generally develop in the following seven phases: Phase (1) an initial rapid brightening; (2) a gradual increase that sometimes shows periodic brightness variations; (3) an onset and rapid increase of brightness until reaching a plateau; (4) a plateau with occasionally chirping brightness oscillations; (5) flares that result in fragments in the meteor wake; (6) an end flare of sometimes different color; and (7) ongoing ablation and fragmentation until dark flight. These seven phases are interpreted as resulting from solid bodies that cause early brightness oscillations from meteoroid spin, a plateau because of melting and reaching melting equilibrium, chirping oscillations due to plasma instabilities, flares due to fragmentations along fractures from dynamic pressure and thermal stress, and an end flare when the surviving back of the meteoroid explodes. This paper discusses the systematics of how the phase heights depend on entry speed, entry angle, initial mass, and meteorite type. The dynamic pressures during the onset of fragmentation and the end flare correlate with the tensile strength of the recovered meteorites. The results have implications for Planetary Defense when anticipating the energy deposition curve of small solid-body airbursting asteroid impacts like Chelyabinsk.

Hydration Features on Near-Earth Objects: Integrating New Data with Prior Results

1L. E. McGraw, 1C. A. Thomas, 1J. P. Emery, 2A. S. Rivkin
The Planetary Science Journal, 7, 55 Open Source Link to Article [DOI: 10.3847/PSJ/ae3de0]
1Department of Astronomy and Planetary Science, Northern Arizona University, PO Box 6010, Flagstaff, AZ 86011, USA
2JHU/APL, 211100 Johns Hopkins Road, Laurel, MD 20723, USA

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Spectral Similarity in the Thermal Infrared between Sulfide-rich Carbonaceous Chondrite Meteorites, Jupiter Trojans, and Other D- and P-type Asteroids

1Helena C. Bates, 1Ashley J. King, 2Kerri L. Donaldson Hanna, 2,3Audrey C. Martin, 4Joshua P. Emery, 5Neil E. Bowles, 1Sara S. Russell
The Planetary Science Journal, 7, 90 Open Source Link to Article [DOI: 10.3847/PSJ/ae5931]
1Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London, SW7 5BD, UK
2University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL 32816, USA
3California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
4Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011, USA
5Oxford University, Oxford, OX1 3PU, UK

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Carbonates in Ryugu and Bennu with MicrOmega: Insights into Aqueous Alteration on Primitive Asteroids

1,2Max Mahlke (>10)
The Planetary Science Journal, 7, 114 Open Source Link to Article [DOI: 10.3847/PSJ/ae6643]
1Institut d’Astrophysique Spatiale, Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, F-91405 Orsay, France
2Université Marie et Louis Pasteur, CNRS, Institut UTINAM (UMR 6213), F-25000 Besançon, France

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Environmental Effects on Space-weathered Lizardite Grains

1,2Nicole M. Ozdowski, 1Ian J. Marrs, 1,2Max A. Hood, 1Mark R. Salvatore, 1Cristina A. Thomas, 1,3Mark J. Loeffler
The Planetary Science Journal, 7, 158 Open Source Link to Article [DOI: 10.3847/PSJ/ae6faa]
1Department of Astronomy and Planetary Science, Northern Arizona University, Box 6010, Flagstaff, AZ 86011, USA
2Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, 4296 Stadium Dr., Physical Sciences Complex (Building 415), Room 1113, College Park, MD 20742, USA
3Center for Materials Interfaces in Research and Applications, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011, USA

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Grain Size Effects on UV-MIR Spectra of Aubrites: Clues for Interpreting E-type Near-Earth Asteroids

1David C. Cantillo, 1,2Neil C. Pearson, 1Kaycee I. Ridenhour, 1Vrinda McBride, 1Miren Miranda, 1Adam Battle, 1Thomas Joyce, 2Juan A. Sanchez, 1Vishnu Reddy
The Planetary Science Journal, 7, 151 Open Source Link to Article [DOI: 10.3847/PSJ/ae6db2]
1Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, 1629 East University Boulevard, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
2Planetary Science Institute, 1700 East Fort Lowell Road, Tucson, AZ 85719, USA

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