The Case for Non-Cryogenic Comet Nucleus Sample Return

TL;DR

This paper advocates for a non-cryogenic approach to comet nucleus sample return missions to better understand the early Solar System, comet formation, and the origins of life on Earth.

Contribution

It proposes a novel non-cryogenic method for comet sample return, emphasizing its potential to reveal primordial materials and complex organic chemistry.

Findings

Non-cryogenic methods can effectively collect and preserve comet samples.

Sample analysis can answer key questions about comet formation and evolution.

Potential to uncover organic compounds relevant to life's origins.

Abstract

Comets hold answers to mysteries of the Solar System by recording presolar history, the initial states of planet formation and prebiotic organics and volatiles to the early Earth. Analysis of returned samples from a comet nucleus will provide unparalleled knowledge about the Solar System starting materials and how they came together to form planets and give rise to life: 1. How did comets form? 2. Is comet material primordial, or has it undergone a complex alteration history? 3. Does aqueous alteration occur in comets? 4. What is the composition of cometary organics? 5. Did comets supply a substantial fraction of Earth's volatiles? 6. Did cometary organics contribute to the homochirality in life on Earth? 7. How do complex organic molecules form and evolve in interstellar, nebular, and planetary environments? 8. What can comets tell us about the mixing of materials in the protosolar nebula?