Investigating the Collisional and Dynamical Evolution of Comets

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The PI will conduct a series of laboratory experiments to study how the surfaces of comets are affected by impacts. Using facilities at the Experimental Impact Laboratory at the NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC), she will prepare targets consisting of refractory minerals that are either known to be present in comets or are suitable analogs for cometary material; the targets may be solid crystals, crushed, or combined with volatiles in low density dust-ice mixtures. The targets will then be impacted at velocities of a few km/s, characteristic of impacts in regions from the Main Asteroid Belt to the Kuiper Belt. The resulting impacted material will be analyzed by a variety of microscopic and spectroscopic techniques, in order to determine (1) whether shock features matching those observed in Comet Wild 2 dust samples (obtained by the Stardust spacecraft) are formed, and (2) whether impacted materials can account for the observed mid-infrared spectra of comets and Trojan asteroids. The goal is to obtain constraints on collision-driven evolution that will elucidate the dynamical histories of comets and asteroids. Students from the PI's university, a Hispanic Serving Institution, will participate in academic-year projects and summer internships at JSC conducting this research, and curricula will be developed for students in the Liberal Studies program that trains K-8 teachers