Experimental constraints on the origin of chondrules

Chrondule formation was an important (perhaps ubiguitous) process in the early solar system, yet their origins remain elusive. Some points, however, are clear. The precursor material of chondules (dust) was rapidly heated at rates of perhaps thousands of degrees per second and was cooled more slowly. It was proposed to investigate chondrule formation in the Space Station environment via a dust-box (a chamber in which dust can be suspended, heated, and cooled. A microgravity environment is conducive to this kind of experiment because of the significant retardation of settling rates compared with a terrestrial laboratory environment. These long-duration experiments might require the development of technologies to counteract even the small, but finite and permanent gravitation field of the Space Station. Simple, but interesting experiments on dust suspensions immediately present themselves.