Finely layered CM2 carbonaceous chondrites may be analogs for layered boulders on asteroid (101955) Bennu

Abstract

Orbital observations of Bennu revealed a surface covered in boulders that are most similar among meteorites in our collections to aqueously altered carbonaceous chondrites, and initial analyses of the returned Bennu sample have begun to reveal insights into Bennu's origins. We identified a suite of paired CM2 chondrite meteorites that have a finely layered texture and bear a striking similarity, although at a different scale, to rugged, layered boulders on Bennu. We investigated the nature and potential origin of this layered texture by performing a petrofabric analysis on samples MET 00431, 00434, and 00435. We developed a micro-geospatial mapping framework that is more commonly used for landscape-scale investigations. Our results reveal a pervasive fracture network that exhibits a similar orientation to flattened particles dominated by tochilinite–cronstedtite intergrowths (TCI). We propose that their petrofabrics originated from a low-energy impact on the parent body that occurred after the main period of aqueous alteration halted. The impactdeformed TCI (which formed during earlier aqueous alteration) and generated the fractures. We propose that the sample from Bennu may contain particles with similar layered textures to these meteorites which, if present, would likewise indicate the dominant role of impacts and aqueous alteration on Bennu's parent body.