An overview of the petrography and petrology of particles from aggregate sample from asteroid Bennu
Abstract The OSIRIS‐REx mission returned a sample of regolith from the carbonaceous asteroid Bennu in September 2023. We present preliminary in situ investigations of the petrology and petrography of selected particles ranging in size from 0.5 to 3 mm. Using a combination of optical and electron beam techniques, we investigate whole specimens and polished sections belonging to morphologically and visually distinct categories of particles. We find that morphological differences in the particles are reflective of petrographic and petrologic differences, leading to the conclusion that we have at least two distinct major lithologies in the bulk sample. Our findings support predictions from remote sensing, suggesting that the morphological differences observed in the boulder population of Bennu correspond to petrologic differences. Our data provide insight into the geologic activity on Bennu's parent body and the petrographic framework needed to contextualize the detailed analyses of this pristine asteroidal material.
Authors
- Daniella N. DellaGuistina
- Lucas Smith (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7610-4231)
- S. Ray (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9591-9380)
- Valerie Tu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1976-9058)
- G. Libourel (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3393-4964)
- I. A. Franchi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4151-0480)
- T. J. Zega (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9549-022X)
- H. Enos (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0215-8306)
- H. H. Kaplan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6562-9462)
- N. V. Almeida (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4871-8225)
- C. Manzoni (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3799-1832)
- T.J. Gooding
- R. H. Jones (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8238-9379)
- Noriyuki Kawasaki (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6502-6488)
- P. F. Schofield (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0902-0588)
- Anjani T. Polit (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4071-7834)
- Shogo Tachibana (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4603-9440)
- T. R. Rose (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8299-578X)
- H. L. Roper (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9518-3203)
- T. J. McCoy (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4573-3553)
- Vincent Guigoz (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0806-2412)
- C. C. Lorentson
- Dante S. LAURETTA (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2597-5950)
- K. T. Tait (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5403-2727)
- S. S. Russell (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5531-7847)
- F. M. McCubbin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2101-4431)
- H. C. Bates (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0469-9483)
- K. J. Walsh (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0906-1761)
- C. W. V. Wolner (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5490-0723)
- N. G. Lunning (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9845-5104)
- Hisayoshi Yurimoto (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0702-0533)
- A. J. Ryan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7535-8416)
- Catherine M. Corrigan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0151-1457)
- Jessica J. M. Barnes (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7151-1014)
- B. May (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6045-0239)
- E. R. Jawin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2341-8819)
- Christopher J. Snead
- Pierre Haenecour (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5671-5388)
- K. Righter (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6075-7908)
- R. J. Macke (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7387-6498)
- V. E. Hamilton (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8675-2083)
- Marc Portail (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2305-6758)
- A. J. King (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6113-5417)
- M. S. Thompson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0824-9225)
- S. A. Eckley (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2692-2164)
- L. P. Keller (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1560-2939)
- L. Le (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6760-2431)
- Jason P. Dworkin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3961-8997)
- T. Salge (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4414-4917)
- Michael C. Moreau (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4699-0519)
- Ronald‐Louis Ballouz (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1772-1934)
- I. J. Ong
- Harold C. Connolly Jr. (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1803-5098)
- Catherine Harrison
- D. H. Hill (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0744-702X)
- Kenneth J. Domanik
- Rob Wardell
Institutions
- Smithsonian Institution (US)
- Southwest Research Institute (US)
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
- Goddard Space Flight Center (US)
- Natural History Museum (GB)
- American Museum of Natural History (US)
- National Museum of Natural History (US)
- University of Arizona (US)
- University of Toronto (CA)
- Université Côte d'Azur (FR)
- The Open University (GB)
- Hokkaido University (JP)
- Purdue University West Lafayette (US)
- Royal Ontario Museum (CA)
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (US)
- University of Manchester (GB)
- Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur (FR)
- National Air and Space Museum (US)
- Johnson Space Center (US)
- Jacobs (United States) (US)
- Vatican Observatory (IT)
- Rowan University (US)
- The University of Tokyo (JP)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Meteoritics and Planetary Science
- Published
- 2025-03-20
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1111/maps.14335
- Citations
- 23
- Primary Topic
- Astro and Planetary Science
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 26.56
Funders
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration