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Getting to Know Vesta

Getting to Know Vesta. Based on its spectral similarities to HED achondrite meteorites, Vesta’s surface is expected to be a mixture of three rock types: diogenites, basaltic eucrites, and cumulate eucrites. . Getting to Know Vesta.

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Getting to Know Vesta

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  1. Getting to Know Vesta • Based on its spectral similarities to HED achondrite meteorites, Vesta’s surface is expected to be a mixture of three rock types: diogenites, basaltic eucrites, and cumulate eucrites. www.psrd.hawaii.edu/Nov07/HEDs-Vesta.html

  2. Getting to Know Vesta • The Gamma Ray and Neutron Detector (GRaND), on Dawn, will measure elemental compositions of Vesta’s surface. • Usui and McSween developed a way to evaluate the proportion of different HED rock types represented in the GRaND spectral data. • Their HED-based mixing model uses molar ratios of Mg, Fe, Al, and Si (see plot), which show the compositional differences between the HED rock types. Plot of (Mg+Fe)/Si abbreviated as [M/Si]molversus Al/Si abbreviated as [Al/Si]mol www.psrd.hawaii.edu/Nov07/HEDs-Vesta.html

  3. Getting to Know Vesta • The plot of concentrations of oxides of Si, Fe, Ti, Mg, Al, Ca, Cr, Mn, Na, and K measured in HED meteorites versus their concentrations calculated from the mixing model by Usui and McSween shows excellent agreement. • A logarithmic scale is used to easily show all the elements on one diagram (K is lowest and Si is highest). www.psrd.hawaii.edu/Nov07/HEDs-Vesta.html

  4. Getting to Know Vesta • Usui and McSween’s HED-based mixing model can: • accurately estimate the abundances of major elements measured by GRaND • predict abundances of minor elements (Na, Cr, and Mn) not analyzed by the instrument. • Shows the value of an integrated approach using: • laboratory data on HED meteorites (Cosmochemistry) • remote sensing data from a spacecraft orbiting Vesta (Missions) Neutron Activation Analysis www.psrd.hawaii.edu/Nov07/HEDs-Vesta.html

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