Handling Heavenly Jewels - 35 Years of Antarctic Meteorite Processing at Johnson Space Center
The ANSMET program began in 1976, and since that time more than 18,000 meteorites have been processed in the Meteorite Processing Lab at Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX[1]. The meteorites are collected and returned to JSC on a freezer truck and remain frozen until they are initially processed. I...
Main Authors: | , , , |
---|---|
Format: | Other/Unknown Material |
Language: | unknown |
Published: |
2011
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20110014359 |
id |
ftnasantrs:oai:casi.ntrs.nasa.gov:20110014359 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftnasantrs:oai:casi.ntrs.nasa.gov:20110014359 2023-05-15T13:43:16+02:00 Handling Heavenly Jewels - 35 Years of Antarctic Meteorite Processing at Johnson Space Center Harrington, R. Satterwhite, C. E. McBridge, K. M. Schwarz, C. M. Unclassified, Unlimited, Publicly available August 08, 2011 application/pdf http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20110014359 unknown Document ID: 20110014359 http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20110014359 Copyright, Distribution as joint owner in the copyright CASI Lunar and Planetary Science and Exploration JSC-CN-24116 74th Annual Meeting of the Meteroritical Society; 8-12 Aug. 2011; London; United Kingdom 2011 ftnasantrs 2019-07-21T01:01:00Z The ANSMET program began in 1976, and since that time more than 18,000 meteorites have been processed in the Meteorite Processing Lab at Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX[1]. The meteorites are collected and returned to JSC on a freezer truck and remain frozen until they are initially processed. Initial Processing of Meteorites: Initial processing involves drying the meteorites in a nitrogen glove box for 24 to 48 hours, photographing, measuring, weighing and writing a description of the interior and exterior. The meteorite is broken and a representative sample is sent to the Smithsonian Institution for classification. Newsletter & Requests: Once initial processing has been complete and the meteorites have been classified, the information is published in the Antarctic Meteorite Newsletter[2,3]. The newsletter is published twice yearly and is sent electronically to researchers around the world and is also available on line. Researchers are asked to fill out a request form and submit it to the Meteorite Working Group secretary. All sample requests will be reviewed by either the meteorite curator or the Meteorite Working Group de-pending on the type of meteorite and the research being conducted. Processing for Sample Requests: In the meteorite processing lab, meteorite samples are prepared several different ways. Most samples are prepared as chips obtained by use of stainless steel chisels in a chipping bowl or rock splitter. In special situations where a researcher needs a slab the meteorite samples can be bandsawed in a dry nitrogen glove box with a diamond blade, no liquids are ever introduced into the cabinet. The last type of sample preparation is thin/thick sections. The meteorite thin section lab at JSC can prepare standard 30-micron thin sections, thick sections of variable thickness (100 to 200 microns), or demountable sections using superglue. Information for researchers: It is important that re-searchers fill the sample request form completely, in order to make sure the meteorite is processed correctly[4]. Re-searchers should list any special requirements on the form, i.e. packaging of samples (poly vs. stainless), thick sections and thickness needed, superglue needed, interior chips, exterior chips, fusion crust, contamination issues, all concerns should be listed so processing can be done accurately and any concerns the researcher has can be addressed be-fore the meteorites are broken. Other/Unknown Material Antarc* Antarctic NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS) Antarctic The Antarctic |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS) |
op_collection_id |
ftnasantrs |
language |
unknown |
topic |
Lunar and Planetary Science and Exploration |
spellingShingle |
Lunar and Planetary Science and Exploration Harrington, R. Satterwhite, C. E. McBridge, K. M. Schwarz, C. M. Handling Heavenly Jewels - 35 Years of Antarctic Meteorite Processing at Johnson Space Center |
topic_facet |
Lunar and Planetary Science and Exploration |
description |
The ANSMET program began in 1976, and since that time more than 18,000 meteorites have been processed in the Meteorite Processing Lab at Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX[1]. The meteorites are collected and returned to JSC on a freezer truck and remain frozen until they are initially processed. Initial Processing of Meteorites: Initial processing involves drying the meteorites in a nitrogen glove box for 24 to 48 hours, photographing, measuring, weighing and writing a description of the interior and exterior. The meteorite is broken and a representative sample is sent to the Smithsonian Institution for classification. Newsletter & Requests: Once initial processing has been complete and the meteorites have been classified, the information is published in the Antarctic Meteorite Newsletter[2,3]. The newsletter is published twice yearly and is sent electronically to researchers around the world and is also available on line. Researchers are asked to fill out a request form and submit it to the Meteorite Working Group secretary. All sample requests will be reviewed by either the meteorite curator or the Meteorite Working Group de-pending on the type of meteorite and the research being conducted. Processing for Sample Requests: In the meteorite processing lab, meteorite samples are prepared several different ways. Most samples are prepared as chips obtained by use of stainless steel chisels in a chipping bowl or rock splitter. In special situations where a researcher needs a slab the meteorite samples can be bandsawed in a dry nitrogen glove box with a diamond blade, no liquids are ever introduced into the cabinet. The last type of sample preparation is thin/thick sections. The meteorite thin section lab at JSC can prepare standard 30-micron thin sections, thick sections of variable thickness (100 to 200 microns), or demountable sections using superglue. Information for researchers: It is important that re-searchers fill the sample request form completely, in order to make sure the meteorite is processed correctly[4]. Re-searchers should list any special requirements on the form, i.e. packaging of samples (poly vs. stainless), thick sections and thickness needed, superglue needed, interior chips, exterior chips, fusion crust, contamination issues, all concerns should be listed so processing can be done accurately and any concerns the researcher has can be addressed be-fore the meteorites are broken. |
format |
Other/Unknown Material |
author |
Harrington, R. Satterwhite, C. E. McBridge, K. M. Schwarz, C. M. |
author_facet |
Harrington, R. Satterwhite, C. E. McBridge, K. M. Schwarz, C. M. |
author_sort |
Harrington, R. |
title |
Handling Heavenly Jewels - 35 Years of Antarctic Meteorite Processing at Johnson Space Center |
title_short |
Handling Heavenly Jewels - 35 Years of Antarctic Meteorite Processing at Johnson Space Center |
title_full |
Handling Heavenly Jewels - 35 Years of Antarctic Meteorite Processing at Johnson Space Center |
title_fullStr |
Handling Heavenly Jewels - 35 Years of Antarctic Meteorite Processing at Johnson Space Center |
title_full_unstemmed |
Handling Heavenly Jewels - 35 Years of Antarctic Meteorite Processing at Johnson Space Center |
title_sort |
handling heavenly jewels - 35 years of antarctic meteorite processing at johnson space center |
publishDate |
2011 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20110014359 |
op_coverage |
Unclassified, Unlimited, Publicly available |
geographic |
Antarctic The Antarctic |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic The Antarctic |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic |
op_source |
CASI |
op_relation |
Document ID: 20110014359 http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20110014359 |
op_rights |
Copyright, Distribution as joint owner in the copyright |
_version_ |
1766186492887040000 |