The Dawn of Dust Astronomy

Abstract

We review the development of dust science from the first ground-based astronomical observations of dust in space to compositional analysis of individual dust particles and their source objects. A multitude of observational techniques is available for the scientific study of space dust: from meteors and interplanetary dust particles collected in the upper atmosphere to dust analyzed in situ or returned to Earth. In situ dust detectors have been developed from simple dust impact detectors determining the dust hazard in Earth orbit to dust telescopes capable of providing compositional analysis and accurate trajectory determination of individual dust particles in space. The concept of Dust Astronomy has been developed, recognizing that dust particles, like photons, carry information from remote sites in space and time. From knowledge of the dust particles' birthplace and their bulk properties, we learn about the remote environment out of which the particles were formed. Dust Observatory missions like Cassini, Stardust, and Rosetta study Saturn's satellites and rings and the dust environments of comet Wild 2 and comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko, respectively. Supplemented by simulations of dusty processes in the laboratory we are beginning to understand the dusty environments in space.

A Multi‐Purpose Heliophysics L4 Mission

“…Every other 11 years, the ISD particles, in particular those smaller than about half a micrometer in radius, focus and defocus toward and from the solar equatorial plane throughout the 22-year Hale cycle. Ulysses detected about 500-1,000 ISD particles with masses between 10 −12 and 10 −19 kg and provided the first ever direct detection of interstellar dust in the solar system (Grün et al, 1993(Grün et al, , 2019. More missions followed, even including composition analysis and sample return.…”

Complementary Mass Spectral Analysis of Isomeric O-bearing Organic Compounds and Fragmentation Differences through Analog Techniques for Spaceborne Mass Spectrometers

“…Mass spectrometric analysis is extensively used in terrestrial laboratories, as well as in space, for the compositional analysis of different materials. Mass spectrometers on board a number of spacecraft have been used to study the composition of different planetary bodies by analyzing their dust environment, for example, Giotto (Kissel et al 1986) at Halley's comet, Rosetta (Kissel et al 2007) at comet 67/P Churyumov-Gerasimenko, and Cassini (Srama et al 2004) in the Saturnian system (Grün et al 2019). Recently, the detection of potential biosignatures in extraterrestrial environments in the outer solar system has become a hot topic for mass spectrometry (MS) research (Sephton et al 2018;Klenner et al 2020aKlenner et al , 2020bLigterink et al 2020).…”

“…For decades, mass spectrometers on spacecraft have utilized the phenomenon of impact ionization for MS (Dietzel et al 1973;Grün et al 2019) to gain insight into the compositional and dynamical properties of micron-and submicron-sized dust and ice grains in space. For this purpose, dust detectors on board spacecraft (Berg & Richardson 1969;Srama et al 2011;Grün et al 2019) have played an important role in characterizing the composition of interplanetary and interstellar dust and ice grains since the Pioneer 8 mission (Berg & Richardson 1969;Srama et al 2011;Altobeli et al 2016). In the impact ionization process (Friichtenicht 1964;Auer & Sitte 1968;Friichtenicht et al 1971;Mocker et al 2011), a micron-(or submicron-) sized dust grain hits the detector's solid metal target plate at hypervelocity (typically v > 1 km s −1 ).…”

Surface Imaging in Applied Research

“…It employs a wide range of ion sources, mass analyzers, and detectors. This allows us to use mass spectrometry in the widest field of scientific and industrial interests, from analyzing food products [4,5] to studying outer space [6,7]. In recent years, a special place in mass spectrometry has been occupied by ways of studying surfaces or compounds on them.…”