Proposal for a Multi-Purpose Sample Holder and Mounting of Extraterrestrial Materials for X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy and Other Surface Analytical Techniques

Sample preparation, handling, and mounting are important aspects of many analytical techniques, especially when investigating material collected from sample return missions, which must be preserved after any investigative study. Moreover, mounting must be performed in aseptic conditions to mitigate terrestrial contamination, thus making any manipulation more difficult. Based on the various anaytical techniques, several types of sample holders (SH) have been proposed in the literature for sample return missions [e.g., 1,2,3]. However, no SH has yet been reported for X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis – which provides clues to the surface (<10nm) chemical state of the investigated sample – fundamental to understanding the space weathering effect on pristine material [e.g., 4]. Here, we propose a new SH suitable for maintaining small-size (1.5-10mm) and high-friable grains – e.g., CI-type carbonaceous chondrites (CC) – in stability conditions during coordinated surface analysis. The sample holder was developed to preserve asteroidal grains for non-destructive and non-invasive surface analytical techniques, i.e., XPS, micro-IR, and micro-Raman. Moreover, a sample holder container (SHC) was employed to support the transport of the SH in a secure, safe manner and without exposure to the terrestrial atmosphere. This work was designed for the analysis of two mm-size grains from the Ryugu asteroid allocated to our group during the second AO for Hayabusa2 samples [5].