Space Weathering and Compositional Variations in Ryugu Samples: FTIR and Raman Spectroscopic Insight

Kurzfassung

The Hayabusa2 mission, led by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), represents one of the most ambitious space missions in terms of both technological achievement and scientific return. The mission successfully collected samples from two distinct locations on the surface of asteroid Ryugu, returning approximately 5 grams of material to Earth in December 2020 for laboratory analysis. The first touchdown (TD1) retrieved surface materials stored in Chamber A, while the second touchdown (TD2) collected subsurface materials from approximately 1 meter depth, stored in Chamber C [1]. Preliminary analyses revealed that Ryugu particles share mineralogical similarities with CI chondrites [2], featuring matrices rich in phyllosilicates, iron sulfides (pyrrhotite and pentlandite), carbonates (dolomite and an iron-bearing variety of magnesite known as brunnerite), magnetite, and hydroxyapatite [3,4,5]. In this study, we conducted a comparative analysis of three millimeter-sized particles (A0226-1, A0226-2 (both from Chamber A), and C0242 (from Chamber C) [6]). Sample A0226-2 became detached from A0226-1 during the mounting process. Using a combined FT-IR and Raman spectroscopy approach, we investigated surface differences among these particles.