arXiv (Cornell University)
Cryogenic Cometary Sample Return
August 2020 • A. J. Westphal, L. R. Nittler, R. M. Stroud, M. E. Zolensky, N. L. Chabot, Neil Dello Russo, Jamie E. Elsila, Scott A. Sandford, D. P. Glavin, M. E. …
Comets likely formed in the outer regions of the protosolar nebula where they incorporated and preserved primitive presolar materials, volatiles resident in the outer disk, and more refractory materials from throughout the disk. The return of a sample of volatiles (i.e., ices and entrained gases), along with other components of a cometary nucleus, will yield numerous major scientific opportunities. We are unaccustomed to thinking of ices through a mineralogical/petrological lens, but at cryogenic temperatures, ice…