Reversible Sample Preparation of Small Particles in Potted Butts for SIMS Analyses

With the return of Stardust samples the cos-mochemistry community faced the novel challenge of conducting coordinated analyses on a suite of extraterrestrial samples that are simultaneously extremely tiny (nanogram to picogram), ex-tremely limited, and extremely complex and fine-grained. This has required the development of novel techniques[1]. Current techniques generally make efficient use of the samples[2], but isotopic analyses have required a sample preparation technique that requires contact with the sample and modification of the potted butt. Here we describe an easily reversible sample prepa-ration technique for SIMS measurements that facilitates multiple rounds of TEM, STXM and isotopic analyses, thus making full use of rare particles. We anticipate that this technique will be appropriate for Hayabusa samples from 25143 Itokawa, which share the same challenging properties as Stardust samples.