Abstract Scope |
Synchrotron radiation (SR) computed tomography (CT) is one of the important tools for the analysis of extraterrestrial materials, such as meteorites and cosmic dusts and especially returned samples by spacecraft missions, because of its non-destructive feature. Internal structure of the extraterrestrial material can be obtained with spatial resolution less around 1µm before the destructive analyses. However, materials included in the samples cannot be determined uniquely, because the range of the X-ray absorption coefficient of constituent materials is significantly overlapped in previous system. A multi-mode CT system for the comprehensive analysis of extraterrestrial materials has been developed at BL20XU/SPring-8. The system composed of multiscale CT, XRD-CT and phase contrast CT setup, to identify variety of components in extraterrestrial materials, such as silicates, iron-Ni-sulfur alloys, carbonates, and organic materials. The system will be applied for the analysis of returned samples of asteroid Ryugu, after return back of “HAYABUSA2” spacecraft in late 2020. |