Variety of Organic Matter in Stardust Return Samples from Comet 81p/wild 2

Introduction: The Stardust mission captured dust particles from comet 81P/Wild 2 and returned them to Earth. Since this material has been cryogenically stored within the comet for billions of years, the Star-dust samples represent early nebular condensates and some presolar material, identified by anomalous isotopic fractionation outside the range of solar values. Carbonaceous matter has been identified in the Wild 2 samples in a variety of forms [1], including solitary carbonaceous particles [2, 3], carbonaceous matter mixed with silicate and/or sulfide grains [4], and simple amine molecules implanted into the silica aerogel capture medium [5]. Cometary carbonaceous matter is derived from in-terstellar organic molecules and organics processed in the early solar nebula. It is generally assumed that no significant amount of carbonaceous matter is generated on the cometary body. Therefore the authentic organic matter present in the Stardust return samples represents a snapshot of the carbonaceous constituents of the early solar nebula. Presolar organics are characterized by anomalous levels of