INTEGRATED MINERALOGICAL AND ISOTOPIC STUDIES OF STARDUST COMETARY PARTICLESIN JANUARY 2006 THE STARDUST MISSION SUCCESSFULLY RETURNED MYRIAD SAMPLES OF DUST EJECTED FROM COMET WILD 2. THE STARDUST COMETARY PARTICLES REPRESENT AN IMPORTANT NEW SOURCE OF EXTRATERRESTRIAL MATERIALS WHICH HAS THE POTENTIAL TO PROVIDE SIGNIFICANT NEW INSIGHTS INTO THE NATURE OF EARLY SOLAR SYSTEM MATERIALS AND PROCESSES. IN THIS PROPOSAL WE WILL CARRY OUT COMBINED MINERALOGICAL AND ISOTOPIC STUDIES OF STARDUST PARTICLES IN AN EFFORT TO CONSTRAIN THE ORIGINS AND THERMAL HISTORIES OF THESE MATERIALS AND ESTABLISH THEIR RELATIONSHIPS TO KNOWN SAMPLES OF FINE-GRAINED EXTRATERRESTRIAL MATERIALS SUCH AS CARBONACEOUS CHONDRITES AND INTERPLANETARY DUST. THESE STUDIES WILL BUILD ON THE SUBSTANTIAL KNOWLEDGE BASE GENERATED DURING THE SUCCESSFUL PET INVESTIGATIONS. WE PROPOSE TO USE STATE-OF-THE-ART TRANSMISSION ELECTRON MICROSCOPE TECHNIQUES TO FULLY CHARACTERIZE A RANGE OF PARTICLES INCLUDING TERMINAL PARTICLES AS WELL AS PARTICLES COLLECTED AT DIFFERENT DISTANCES ALONG TRACKS. THESE STUDIES WILL PROVIDE COMPLETE MINERALOGICAL AND CRYSTALLOGRAPHIC CHARACTERIZATION OF INDIVIDUAL PARTICLES INCLUDING THE DISTRIBUTION OF SOLID CARBON-BEARING PHASES. FOLLOWING TEM STUDIES SUITABLE PARTICLES WILL BE STUDIED USING ION MICROPROBE TECHNIQUES TO DETERMINE THE ISOTOPIC COMPOSITIONS OF INDIVIDUAL PHASES AS WELL AS THE ELEMENTAL DISTRIBUTIONS OF MINOR AND TRACE ELEMENTS WITHIN THE PARTICLES. THESE STUDIES WILL INCLUDE OXYGEN ISOTOPIC STUDIES IN COLLABORATION WITH GARY HUSS AT UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII AND YUNBIN GUAN AT CALTECH. WE ARE PARTICULARLY INTEREST IN FINDING PARTICLES IN WHICH THE FINEST GRAINED COMPONENT OF THE COMETARY MATERIAL HAS BEEN CAPTURED WITH MINIMAL PROCESSING DURING THE CAPTURE PROCESS.