Investigation of Dust Grains by Optical Tweezers for Space Applications

Cosmic dust plays a dominant role in the universe, especially formation of stars and planetary systems. Furthermore, surface cosmic grains is bench-work where molecular hydrogen simple organic compounds are formed. We manipulate individual particles water solution by contactless non-invasive techniques such as standard Raman tweezers, to characterize their response mechanical effects light (optical forces torques) determine mineral compositions. Moreover, we show accurate optical force calculations T-matrix formalism highlighting key composition complex morphology trapping particles.This opens perspectives for future applications tweezers curation facilities sample return missions or extraterrestrial environments.