X-ray Fluorescence Spectrometry of Asteroid Itokawa by Hayabusa

X-ray fluorescence spectrometry of asteroid 25143 Itokawa was performed by the x-ray spectrometer onboard Hayabusa during the first touchdown on 19 November 2005. We selected those data observed during relatively enhanced solar activity and determined average elemental mass ratios of Mg/Si = 0.78 ±...

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Veröffentlicht in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 2006-06, Vol.312 (5778), p.1338-1341
Hauptverfasser: Okada, Tatsuaki, Shirai, Kei, Yamamoto, Yukio, Arai, Takehiko, Ogawa, Kazunori, Hosono, Kozue, Kato, Manabu
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Sprache:eng
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Zusammenfassung:X-ray fluorescence spectrometry of asteroid 25143 Itokawa was performed by the x-ray spectrometer onboard Hayabusa during the first touchdown on 19 November 2005. We selected those data observed during relatively enhanced solar activity and determined average elemental mass ratios of Mg/Si = 0.78 ± 0.09 and Al/Si = 0.07 ± 0.03. Our preliminary results suggest that Itokawa has a composition consistent with that of ordinary chondrites, but primitive achondrites cannot be ruled out. Among ordinary chondrites, LL- or L-chondrites appear to be more likely than H-chondrites. No substantial regional difference was found on the asteroid surface, indicating its homogeneity in composition.
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.1125731