¹Karina López García,¹Tetsuya Yokoyama,¹Ikshu Gautam,¹Makiko K. Haba,²Tsuyoshi Iizuka,¹Nao Nakanishi,³Ryota Fukai
Meteoritics & Planetary Science (in Press) Open Access Link to Article [https://doi.org/10.1111/maps.70109]
¹Department of Earth and Planetary Science, Institute of Science Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
²Department of Earth and Planetary Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
³Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Kanagawa, Japan
Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons

Ryugu materials closely resemble CI chondrites’ mineralogical, chemical, andisotopic compositions; yet minor but resolvable differences in certain elemental abundances areevident. In this study, the bulk chemical compositions of eight individual Ryugu particles(1.5–4.3 mg) from the first touchdown site (TD1) were determined using triple–quadrupoleinductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (TQ-ICP-MS). These samples show broadabundance ranges (0.4–4 9 CI) for elements commonly hosted in minor secondary phasesincluding P, Ca, Mn, Sr, Y, Ba, and rare earth elements (REE), and display distinctcovariation patterns among these elements. Combining our data with previous analyses of TD1 Ryugu particles, we identified three compositional types: Type 1 particles are enriched by>20% in P, Ca, Mn, Sr, and REE relative to the Ryugu average; Type 3 particles are depletedby >20% in these elements but show slight enrichments (up to 30%) in siderophile andchalcophile elements; Type 2 particles have most elemental abundances within 20% of theRyugu average. These wide abundance ranges reflect heterogeneous distribution (nugget effect)of minor secondary minerals within Ryugu’s parent body. Such heterogeneity provides insightsinto the evolving conditions of alteration fluids and the consequent elemental fractionationpatterns.

¹Allison A. Baczynski et al. (>10)
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA (PNAS) 123, e2517723123 Open Access Link to Article [https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2517723123]
¹Department of Geosciences, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802

Samples collected from the carbonaceous near-Earth asteroid Bennu and delivered to Earth by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission contain organic molecules relevant to prebiotic chemistry. Stable isotopic measurements of extraterrestrial soluble organic matter provide critical insights into the formation pathways and alteration histories of such molecules, which hold significance for understanding the origins of life. We leverage state-of-the-art techniques for picomolar-scale isotopic analyses of amino acids in samples of Bennu and, for comparison, the carbonaceous meteorite Murchison. We report intramolecular δ13C values for glycine, which have not previously been measured in extraterrestrial materials; molecular-averaged δ13C values for amino acids, aldehydes, and ketones; and δ15N values for glycine, β-alanine, and D/L-glutamic acid. Intramolecular carbon isotope patterns of glycine in Bennu contrast with those in Murchison, suggesting distinct formation pathways. We explore several formation mechanisms and hypothesize that the observed glycine in Murchison formed dominantly by a Strecker-like synthesis under aqueous conditions, whereas the glycine currently found in Bennu may have formed mainly by modified radical–radical reactions in primordial ices at the cold, outer reaches of the early Solar System and retained its isotopic values throughout accretion and multiple episodes of aqueous alteration. This hypothesis is supported by the highly 15N-enriched δ15N values in Bennu amino acids (+170 to 277‰). Differences in the δ15N values of D- and L-glutamic acid (Δ = 87‰) in Bennu affirm published reports of enantiomeric differences in meteoritic amino acids and challenge the assumption of isotopic uniformity between amino acid chiral pairs.

¹S. A. Parra,¹R. N. Greenberger,¹B. L. Ehlmann
Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets (In Press) Open Access Link to Article [https://doi.org/10.1029/2025JE009048]
¹Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons

Primitive asteroids and carbonaceous chondrites (CCs) record the history of processes in theearly solar system. Visible and shortwave infrared (VSWIR) spectroscopy of primitive asteroids and bulk‐powdered CCs has identified shared spectral features suggestive of shared parent body origins. However, bulkpowder CC spectra are spatially unresolved and destroy textures, which hinders tying shared spectral featuresto particular phases, petrologic contexts, and alteration histories. This study analyzes 20 CCs measured usingmicroimaging hyperspectral VSWIR spectroscopy, recording over 700,000 individual spectra at the ∼80 μm/pixel scale. We compare CC spectral features with asteroids using the Expanded Bus‐DeMeo taxonomy. Weintroduce a spectral processing pipeline using Savitzky‐Golay filtering to better capture subtle spectralfeatures, reduce noise and enhance comparisons between asteroid classes and CC subgroups and constituentphases. Key findings include a close spectral match between CM chondrites and Cgh‐class asteroids, as wellas between CV3 chondrites and L‐class asteroids. Unaltered, iron‐bearing silicate CC components are similarto “stony” asteroid spectral classes. Furthermore, taxonomy‐based separation of CC spectra also identifiesfeatures unique to CCs, for example, oxidized iron signatures in CR2 chondrite NWA 7502 and other samplesindicative of terrestrial weathering. Together these CC data show that primary and secondary Fe‐bearingminerals drive the separations in the asteroid classes expressed in the Expanded Bus‐DeMeo taxonomy. Thesefindings also underscore the value of microimaging spectroscopy and statistically motivated frameworks inconducting larger surveys to interrogate the shared record of alteration in the early solar system. The data setis released for further study.

^1,2,3,4Jiaxin Xi,^1,2,3,4Shan Li,^1,2,3Haiyang Xian,^1,2,3Yiping Yang,⁵Dongsheng He,^1,2,3,4Jianxi Zhu,^1,2,3Xiaoju Lin,^1,2,3,4Hongmei Yang,^1,2,3,4Hongping He
Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets (in Press) Link to Article [https://doi.org/10.1029/2025JE009174]
¹State Key Laboratory of Deep Earth Processes and Resources, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy ofSciences, Guangzhou, P.R. China
²Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Mineral Physics and Materials, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, P.R. China
³Center for Advanced Planetary Science(CAPS), Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, P.R. China
⁴University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, P.R. China
⁵Pico Center and Department of Physics, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, China
Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons

Recent studies challenge the classical view of the Moon as lacking ferric iron (Fe3+). Laboratoryinvestigations and remote sensing data confirm the presence of Fe3+, but its evolutionary mechanisms are notfully understood. We propose a temperature‐dependent mechanism for the evolution of iron content and valencein the assembly of clinopyroxene‐glass from Chang’e 5 lunar regolith samples. In situ heating experimentsusing transmission electron microscopy coupled with electron energy loss spectroscopy showed that heatingfrom 23°C to 1,000°C reduced clinopyroxene’s Fe concentration from 7.73% to 5.59%, while its Fe3+/∑Fe(∑Fe = Fe3+ + Fe2+) ratio increased from 30.17% to 59.74%. Concurrently, the Fe content in adjacent glassdecreased at higher temperatures, with a significant drop in its Fe3+/∑Fe ratio from 22.81% at 700°C to 3.93% at900°C. These findings indicate a heating‐induced co‐evolution of iron in lunar glass and clinopyroxene,suggesting that the impact‐induced thermal evolution of Fe3+ may influence the lunar surface’s local redox state.

¹James F.J. Bryson, ^1,2Hannah R. Sanderson, ³Francis Nimmo, ^1,4Sanjana Sridhar, ⁵Gregory A. Brennecka, ⁶Yves Marrocchi, ¹Jason P. Terry
Earth and Planetary Science Letters 681, 119936 Open Access Link to Article [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2026.119936]
¹Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX2 8FW, UK
²Centre for Planetary Habitability, Department of Geosciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
³Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, 95060, California, USA
⁴Laboratoire Magmas et Volcans, Université Clermont Auvergne. CNRS. IRD. OPGC, Clermont-Ferrand, France
⁵Nuclear and Chemical Science Division, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, 94550, California, USA
⁶Centre de Recherches Pétrographiques et Géochimiques (CRPG), CNRS, UMR 7358, Nancy, France
Copyright Elsevier

The formation of planetesimals was an integral part of the cascading series of processes that built the terrestrial planets. To illuminate planetesimal formation, here we develop a refined thermal evolution model to calculate the formation ages of meteorite parent planetesimals. This model includes chemical reactions and phase changes during heating, as well as natural variations in the proportions of the constituent phases of these planetesimals. We find that the parent bodies of non-carbonaceous (NC) and carbonaceous (CC) iron meteorites start forming at very similar times ( ∼ 0.95 Myr after calcium-aluminium-rich inclusion [CAI] formation) and occupy overlapping time windows. NC and CC chondrite parent bodies formed later during non-overlapping periods. We combine these ages with proportions of isotopic end-members we recover from mixing models to construct records of motion throughout the protoplanetary disk. These records argue that NC and CC material traversed the barrier in the disk after  ∼ 0.95 Myr after CAI formation. The onset of this motion coincided with planetesimal formation, indicating that the phenomenon that drove motion also triggered planetesimal formation. We argue that this feature also served as the semi-permeable barrier in the disk. Although its identity is uncertain, the effects this phenomenon had on the timing of planetesimal formation and motion through the disk can now serve as constraints on models of disk evolution. Models that reproduce these effects would elucidate the nature and implications of this phenomenon, which is key to unlocking a holistic model of terrestrial planet building.

¹Kunihiko Nishiizumi e al. (>10)
Meteoritics & Planetary Science (in Press) Open Access Link to Article [doi: 10.1111/maps.701111]
¹Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California, USA
Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons

Surface processes on the asteroid Ryugu have been investigated using cosmic-ray-produced radionuclides, 10Be, 26Al, and 36Cl, and stable noble gases, on eight samples returned by the Hayabusa2 spacecraft. The 10Be and 26Al along with 21Ne measurements indicate that the two Chamber A samples A0105 collected during the first touchdown (TD) were exposed to cosmic rays for ~6.8 Myr at a shielding depth of 4–15 g cm−2. Beryllium-10 and 26Al from Chamber C samples from the second TD site, close to the artificial crater, were ejected from shielding depths of 120–160 g cm−2 for C0002, 20–85 g cm−2 for C0106-09, and 120–155 g cm−2 for C0106-10, -11, and -12, respectively. The exposure ages of these four C0106 samples differ, ranging from 1.7–8.8 Myr. These measurements provide unique and clear evidence that Hayabusa2 successfully collected subsurface samples ejected by an artificially produced crater. Chlorine-36 produced by secondary-produced thermal neutrons was observed in the samples, consistent with the high concentration of H and Cl. Helium (He) and Ne of solar wind origin were released at the lowest heating temperature of 200°C during a stepwise pyrolysis.

¹Arka P. Chatterjee, ¹Julien Allaz, ²Christian Huberb, ³Luiz F.G. Morales, ^4,5Amanda Ostwald, ¹Olivier Bachmanna
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta (in Press) Link to Article [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2026.02.033]
¹ETH Zürich, Institute of Geochemistry and Petrology, Clausiusstrasse 25, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland
²Brown University, Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences, 324 Brook St., Box 1846, Providence, RI 02912, USA
³ETH Zürich, Scientific Centre for Optical and Electron Microscopy (ScopeM), Otto-Stern-Weg 3, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland
⁴Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, 10th St. & Constitution Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20560, USA
⁵Michigan State University, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, 207 Natural Science Bldg, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
Copyright Elsevier

Martian meteorites, the only available samples of Martian lithologies, provide unique insights into martian magmatism. Olivines in these meteorites contain complex phosphorus (P) zoning, which shed insights into the behaviour of mafic magmas in the martian crust. These olivines crystallized in multiple stages in ascending magmas, and preserved compositional zoning, particularly in P, due to its low diffusivity. Although previous studies have documented P zoning in martian olivines and attributed its formation to rapid crystallization events in magma storage zones within the crust, the processes responsible for the undercooling and fast olivine growth remain unresolved. This study addresses the challenge of interpreting P zoning in martian olivines to better understand the conditions which affected their crystallization histories. Using high-resolution P X-ray maps and microprobe traverses, we show that P zoning in olivine megacrysts from shergottites (martian basalts) and chassignites (martian dunites) consistently records rapid crystallization events at high undercooling due to magma ascent through the martian crust. These zoning patterns, observed in cores, mantles, and rims of olivines from hypabyssal and intrusive samples, highlight different crystallisation conditions during staging, ascent and emplacement of magmas at varying crustal depths. P zoning in olivine-phyric shergottites, viewed in the light of previous thermobarometry results, record initial olivine nucleation in the lower crust, ascent to the mid-crust and final rapid crystallization in the shallow subsurface. Similarly, we inferred multiple cycles of magma ascent and storage in the martian crust from the P zoning in poikilitic and non-poikilitic regions of a poikilitic shergottite. We also provide evidence from P zoning in olivines to differentiate between magma storage relatively deep in the crust and shallow, hypabyssal emplacement. The nature of P zoning during the final stages of olivine crystallization can serve as in-situ evidence of the eruptive behaviour of shallow magma bodies. Further analyses of available meteorites and olivines from future sample return missions will be fundamental to build a holistic model of martian magma plumbing systems and its evolution through time

^1,2Toshimori Sekine, ³Ginga Kitahara, ³Akira Yoshiasa, ⁴Akira Yamaguchi
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta (in Press) Link to Article [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2026.02.021]
¹Center for High Pressure Science and Technology Advanced Research, Shanghai 201203, China
²Gradual School of Engineering, University of Osaka, Suita 565-0871, Japan
³Graduate School of Advanced Science, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto 860-8555, Japan
⁴National Institute for Polar Research, Tachikawa 190-8518, Japan
Copyright Elsevier

The fusion crusts of meteorites indicate the quenched high temperature layers, but few studies are known due to the complicated process at the time of formation. We focused on the redox reactions in the outermost of fusion crusts of typical stony meteorites to investigate the dynamic formation process of rapid heating and quenching through interactions with atmosphere. We used X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) method to estimate the valence states of three transition elements of Ti, Fe, and Mn. The results showed a range of valence state between 3.7 and 4.0 in Ti and 2.0 and 3.0 in Fe, and about 2.5 in Mn. The close relationship between the valence states between Ti and Fe is not recognized apparently although the valence of Mn is nearly constant. If the redox reaction occurs at extreme high temperature, reduction is expected thermodynamically. Oxidation also is expected at the late stage of formation near the Earth surface when the observed meteorites keep high temperatures. The present results on the valence states of Ti, Fe, and Mn in the outermost fusion crusts of stony meteorites imply Ti effectiveness as a good indicator for redox reaction at extreme high temperatures, as supported in tektites formation.

¹Mason Neuman, ²Catherine A. Macris, ^1,3Astrid Holzheid, ¹Katharina Lodders, ¹Bruce Fegley, ⁴Heng Chen , ¹Kun Wang
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta (in Press) Open Access Link to Article [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2026.02.020]
¹Department of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences and the McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA
²Earth and Environmental Sciences, Indiana University, Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA
³Institute of Geosciences, University of Kiel 24118 Kiel, Germany
⁴Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, Palisades, NY 10964, USA
Copyright Elsevier

Moderately volatile element (MVE) depletion and isotopic fractionation are commonly observed in planetary materials. The mechanisms driving these phenomena are subject to intense debate, with some proposing evaporation at various stages of planetary formation as a potential explanation for both elemental depletion and isotopic fractionation. Studying the isotopic fractionation of MVEs can also be useful for investigating the conditions of high-temperature processes in the solar system and on Earth. Evaporation experiments to understand the behavior of isotopic fractionation under variable conditions provide a grounded context for interpreting the geochemical signatures of natural materials. Here we present new experimental data obtained from a novel approach that uses flowing gas to levitate samples and a laser to heat them. This approach offers the advantage of preventing undesired sample-container reactions at elevated temperatures and enabling ultrafast quenching. We analyzed the MVE depletion (e.g., Na, K, Cu, Zn, Ga and Rb) and potassium isotope fractionation associated with heating basalt and loess materials at temperatures up to 2046 °C under multiple oxygen fugacities. Our results show that the oxygen fugacity has a considerable effect on the observed MVE depletion and K isotope fractionation. This effect is likely driven by variations in the ambient gas composition and the specific evaporating species involved. We also found that the starting composition exerts a strong control on the MVE depletion and K isotope fractionation, which we attribute to differences in the relative timescales of K diffusion and evaporation among melt compositions. We additionally computed the evaporation coefficients of K and Zn across various temperature, oxygen fugacities and melt compositions, and systematically explored the relationships between evaporation coefficients and these factors.

¹Kenneth H. Williford et al. (> 10)
Science 391, 6787 Link to Article [DOI: 10.1126/science.adu8264]
¹Blue Marble Space Institute of Science, Seattle, WA, USA.
Reprinted with permission from AAAS

The Perseverance rover landed in Jezero crater on Mars, which once contained a lake of liquid water. We report the rock properties encountered by Perseverance during a 10-kilometer traverse extending over 400 meters in elevation, from beneath Jezero’s western sedimentary fan to the upper crater rim. These rocks consist of coarse-grained olivine, magnesium and iron carbonates, silica, and phyllosilicates, including some of the oldest materials exposed within Jezero. We infer that these rocks formed by olivine accumulation in an igneous system of layered intrusions, followed by exposure to water and carbon dioxide, which caused extensive carbonation of the silicate minerals. Aqueous alteration was more pronounced at lower elevations. Higher-elevation exposures on the crater rim appear similar to olivine-rich rocks distributed over the wider Nili Fossae region.