Larry Nittler

About

Larry Nittler is a cosmochemist who studies the origin and evolution of stars, the galaxy, and the solar system. His research involves laboratory analysis of extraterrestrial materials such as meteorites and samples returned from comets and asteroids, as well as planetary remote sensing via spacecraft. He has played leading roles in the analysis of comet and solar wind samples returned by NASA’s Stardust and Genesis missions, respectively, and served as deputy principal investigator on NASA’s MESSENGER mission to Mercury. Currently, he is a NASA Participating Scientist on the Japanese asteroid sample-return mission, Hayabusa2, and a member of the ESA/JAXA BepiColombo Mercury mission team. Nittler has received the Alfred O. Nier prize of the Meteoritical Society in 2001 and was named a fellow of the same society in 2010. Asteroid 5992 Nittler is named in his honor.

Research topics

• Physics
• Astrobiology
• Chemistry
• Geology
• Mineralogy
• Aerospace engineering
• Materials science
• Geography
• Environmental chemistry
• Engineering

Selected publications

• The Ni isotopic composition of Ryugu reveals a common accretion region for carbonaceous chondrites

  Science Advances · 2024-09-27 · 29 citations

  articleOpen access

  The isotopic compositions of samples returned from Cb-type asteroid Ryugu and Ivuna-type (CI) chondrites are distinct from other carbonaceous chondrites, which has led to the suggestion that Ryugu/CI chondrites formed in a different region of the accretion disk, possibly around the orbits of Uranus and Neptune. We show that, like for Fe, Ryugu and CI chondrites also have indistinguishable Ni isotope anomalies, which differ from those of other carbonaceous chondrites. We propose that this unique…

  PublisherDOI

• The Presolar Grain Database. I. Silicon Carbide

  The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series · 2024-01-29 · 23 citations

  articleOpen access

  Abstract The Presolar Grain Database (PGD) contains the vast majority of isotope data (published and unpublished) on presolar grains and was first released as a collection of spreadsheets in 2009. It has been a helpful tool used by many researchers in cosmochemistry and astrophysics. However, over the years, accumulated errors compromised major parts of the PGD. Here, we provide a fresh start, with the PGD for silicon carbide (SiC) grains rebuilt from the ground up. We also provide updated rules…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Electron microscopy observations of the diversity of Ryugu organic matter and its relationship to minerals at the micro‐ to nano‐scale

  Meteoritics and Planetary Science · 2024-01-25 · 16 citations

  articleOpen access

  Abstract Transmission electron microscopy analyses of Hayabusa2 samples show that Ryugu organic matter exhibits a range of morphologies, elemental compositions, and carbon functional chemistries consistent with those of carbonaceous chondrites that have experienced low‐temperature aqueous alteration. Both nanoglobules and diffuse organic matter are abundant. Non‐globular organic particles are also present, and including some that contain nanodiamond clusters. Diffuse organic matter is finely dis…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Variations of organic functional chemistry in carbonaceous matter from the asteroid 162173 Ryugu

  Nature Communications · 2024-08-29 · 10 citations

  articleOpen access

  Primordial carbon delivered to the early earth by asteroids and meteorites provided a diverse source of extraterrestrial organics from pre-existing simple organic compounds, complex solar-irradiated macromolecules, and macromolecules from extended hydrothermal processing. Surface regolith collected by the Hayabusa2 spacecraft from the carbon-rich asteroid 162173 Ryugu present a unique opportunity to untangle the sources and processing history of carbonaceous matter. Here we show carbonaceous gra…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Microscale hydrogen, carbon, and nitrogen isotopic diversity of organic matter in asteroid Ryugu

  Earth and Planetary Science Letters · 2024-04-27 · 8 citations

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  We report the H, C, and N isotopic compositions of microscale (0.2 to 2 µm) organic matter in samples of asteroid Ryugu and the Orgueil CI carbonaceous chondrite. Three regolith particles of asteroid Ryugu, returned by the Hayabusa2 spacecraft, and several fragments of Orgueil were analyzed by NanoSIMS isotopic imaging. The isotopic distributions of the Ryugu samples from two different collection spots are closely similar to each other and to the Orgueil samples, strengthening the proposed Ryugu…

  PublisherDOI

Frequent coauthors

• C. M. O'd. Alexander

  Carnegie Institution for Science

  398 shared

• Sean C. Solomon

  280 shared

• R. M. Stroud

  United States Naval Research Laboratory

  256 shared

• R. Starr

  181 shared

• H. Busemann

  165 shared

• J. Aléon

  Institut de minéralogie, de physique des matériaux et de cosmochimie

  149 shared

• P. Höppe

  Planetary Science Institute

  147 shared

• T. J. McCoy

  140 shared

Education

• Ph.D.

  Washington University in St. Louis

  1996

• B.A.

  Cornell University

  1991

Awards & honors

• Alfred O. Nier prize of the Meteoritical Society (2001)
• Fellow of the Meteoritical Society (2010)
• Asteroid 5992 Nittler is named in his honor

Similar researchers at Arizona State University

• Greg Asnerh-157
• Philip Christensenh-130
• Alexandra Navrotskyh-105