Microanalyses of interplanetary dust particles and micrometeorites: implications for sample return missions to undifferentiated protoplanets Original Research Article

A few grams of sample from an asteroid or a comet nucleus contain a cornucopia of information on accretion and evolution, including space weathering, of small, undifferentiated protoplanets. The information can be extracted by already available state-of-the-art microanalytical tools together with testable hypotheses of solar nebula dust accretion and parent body modification based on the laboratory analyses of undifferentiated meteoritic materials.