Ultramicrotomy Sample Preparation of Bennu Particles at NASA Johnson Space Center

OSIRIS-REx and Hayabusa2 are sample return missions that collected carbon-rich material from asteroid Bennu and Ryugu, both containing OH-bearing surface materials in the form of clays. Roughly 70 percent of the OSIRIS-REx sample collection and 10 percent of the JAXA Hayabusa2 sample collection that was shared with NASA are stored separately in a new curation ISO 5 cleanroom laboratory at NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC). Located between the two lab suites is an ISO 7 carbonaceous asteroid ultramicrotomy sample preparation laboratory that has the capability to fulfil requests for ultramicrotomed sections of Bennu and Ryugu particles from the scientific community. Ultramicrotomy is a technique used to produce 70-100 nm thick cross sections of particulate materials. The resulting microtome sections are available for a wide array of analytical techniques including non-destructive spectroscopies (e.g., Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and NanoSIMS isotopic analyses, often in a coordinated fashion.