The composition of noble gases in the solar wind as collected by Genesis: A proxy for solar nebula composition

Abstract

Genesis, a NASA sample return mission, collected solar wind (SW) in space for 2.5 years for precise elemental and isotopic analyses. SW matter originates from the photosphere and outer convective zone of the Sun and serves as a proxy of solar nebula composition. One major objective of Genesis was to determine solar abundances and isotopic composition of volatile elements. The solar composition of noble gases is difficult to determine as they are depleted in primitive meteorites and also not detectable in the photospheric spectrum due to their high excitation energies.

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