Raman spectra are sensitive to the structural and chemical characteristics of the phosphate mineral whitlockite. The number and specific frequency of the Raman bands in the 970 A m ' spectral region caused by the vl symmetric stretching mode within the P043tetrahedra differ for REE-rich whitlockite (single, asymmetric band), REE-poor Caor Na-whitlockite (doublet), and terrestrial Hantaining whi...

In a previous paper ' the writers suggested that some rexplosion structures currently attributed to volcanism may actually record impacts of giant meteorites which fell during the geological past. It is the purpose of this article to show how meteorite craters and th eir underlying structures might be preserved, and to evaluate the meteoritic hypothesis as an 'explanativn for three structures w...

Two proposed possibilities for the complex organics are that they are a) formed by Streck synthesis in ancient sub-surface aquifers on asteroid parent bodies [2], or b) by accretion of material created in the ISM [3,4]. Measured D/H ratios of the meteoritic amino acid samples imply a low-temperature origin, challenging model a). And dense molecular clouds are nearly opaque to UV penetration, ch...

Introduction: Reports of methane in the Martian atmosphere have spurred speculation about sources for that methane [1-3]. Discussion has centered on cometary/ meteoritic delivery, magmatic/mantle processes, UVbreakdown of organics, serpentinization of basalts, and generation of methane by living organisms. This paper describes an additional possibility: that buried organic remains from past lif...

We demonstrate nondestructive, three-dimensional, microscopic, infrared (IR) spectral in-situ imaging of an extraterrestrial sample. Spatially resolved chemical composition and spatial correlations are investigated within a single 45 µm grain of the Murchison meteorite. Qualitative and quantitative investigation through this analytical technique can help elucidate the origin and evolution of me...

Introduction: At last yearÕs LPSC meeting, we described our first attempts to collect abundance data for Os, Ir, Pt, and Au in iron meteorites and chondritic metal [1-3]. We described a technique which gives measurable signals of negative Os, Ir, Pt, and Au ions from ~10 micron spots while all interferences are resolved or suppressed. At that time, we showed that PGE data for meteoritic metal m...