Geocheminar spring-2013

The HED clan of achondrites are believed to be sourced from the asteroid 4 Vesta. Though the howardites represent polymict breccias that contain eucritic and diogenitic material and likely have a surface origin, their true regolithic nature is not well defined. As trapped solar wind would be expected in samples that have been exposed to the vestan surface, noble gas analysis can be used as a key technique to determine a truly regolithic howardite. In this research, we introduce our three-pronged approach of compositional, petrological and specifically noble gas analysis to identify such regolithic samples, with a view to better understanding the geological evolution of Vesta, and the processes responsible for the formation of its surface.