Office of the Secretary of Defense: 12_ORNL_Analysis_Metallic_Specimen

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Figure 5. Laser ablation ICP-MS elemental maps. (Top) Colocation of lead (green), bismuth (blue), and zinc (red), the three
primary minor elements in the material. Blending of colors indicates co-location: teal indicates the nearly 1:1 ratio of lead
to bismuth. (Bottom) Elemental map of bismuth concentration (hot [yellow] = more, cool [purple] = less). Bismuth is most
concentrated at the top but is present in many repeating layers.
Isotope Analysis
Multicollector ICP-MS analysis showed that the specimen’s magnesium and lead isotope composition is consistent
with other materials manufactured and used terrestrially (Figures 6 and 7). Isotopes are varying forms of the same
element with differing mass, and their proportions affect the chemical properties of and reveal information about
the history of the material within which the isotopes are found. All elements have isotopes, and the ratio between
the amounts of various isotopes is called the isotopic signature, which is akin to a fingerprint in chemical analyses.
The magnesium isotopic signature of the specimen is fractionated (possibly owing to the mechanical and heat
strain that the material appears to have undergone) but falls within normal terrestrial compositions and precisely
within the expected trendlines of fractionation (Figure 6). Each star system has a magnesium isotopic composition
that was inherited from its local star-forming region. Figure 6 shows the magnesium isotopic signature of various
materials originating within our solar system. The straight lines in the bottom graphic representation are the kinetic
and equilibrium mass fractionation trendlines, which define the types of isotopic shifts incurred on the basis of
mass. Fractionation occurs due to chemical reactions and physical processes (e.g., manufacturing and mining)
and is normal during the lifespan of natural and manufactured materials and their components. The materials in
Figure 6—including the specimen—fall on or near the fractionation trendlines, strongly indicating that their starting
compositions were once the same and have been systematically changed as a result of mass fractionation. If a ma-
terial originated outside our solar system, its magnesium isotopic signature could plot nearly anywhere in the top
graphic representation of Figure 6—instead, the specimen’s data plots it precisely within the expected fractionation
trendlines for known compositions specific to our solar system.
Less complexly, the lead isotopic signature of this specimen is fully consistent with “common lead” compositions
that exist naturally on Earth and within terrestrial materials (Figure 7), distinctly separate from even lunar materials,
indicating it is extremely likely that the material originated on Earth.012
Page determined to be Unclassified
Reviewed by Chief of Staff, AARO
IAW FY24 NDAA, Section 1841 (a)(1)(C)
Date: 02/06/2025