Michael E. Zolensky, Author at Elements

Halogen Record of Fluid Activity in the Solar System

By Jessica Barnes and Michael E. Zolensky |

Halogens are mobile in geological fluids, making them excellent tracers of volatile activity. Halogen-bearing minerals in diverse planetary materials, coupled with chlorine isotope compositions of bulk samples and minerals, can be used to infer the presence of fluids on planetary surfaces, crusts, and interiors. Halogen element and isotopic evidence helps define the role that halogens play in diverse planetary environments (e.g., asteroids, the Moon, and Mars), which offers insights into fluid activity in the early Solar System and in the role such fluids have played in volatile transport, alteration processes, and habitability throughout geological history.

Comets: Where We Are, How We Got Here, and Where We Want To Go Next

By Michael E. Zolensky and Monica M. Grady

We introduce the principal mysteries surrounding comets; discuss the proposed importance of comets to the origin of water and organic compounds in the inner solar system; and summarize the history of cometary observation, study, and exploration over the past 22 centuries.

NASA’s Cosmic Dust Program: Collecting Dust Since 1981

By Michael E. Zolensky

Cosmic dust refers to particles that originate from the interplanetary medium and that have a diameter of ~100 µm or smaller (Brownlee 1985). This material, also known as interplanetary dust particles (IDPs), can be collected directly from Earth’s atmosphere. NASA has collected particles in the stratosphere for nearly three decades.