## 3 Results and Discussion
### Comparison of Physical Interaction  
The analysis of the ablation spots and their near surroundings by electron microscopy and optical profilometry proved the crucial importance of the laser parameters (e.g., fluence, pulse duration) and experimental conditions held during ablation for the interaction experiments. In the case of the femtosecond Ti:Sapphire laser, the pulse duration (50 fs) was too short for the thermal effects (e.g., melting) to take place to a larger extent. In the place of the beam focus, the solid meteorite sample was, therefore, transformed directly into gaseous plasma. Because of the absence of thermal effects, the femtosecond laser created craters with clearly defined edges and without any significant amount of molten and deposited material around.  
In the vicinity of the ablation spots from lasers with a longer pulse duration, where thermal effects are more significant, a considerable amount of molten meteoritic material was observed. In the case of the high-power PALS laser, relatively large droplets of ejected molten material could be found even at greater distances from the ablation crater, which was caused by the high energy of the laser pulse. A visual comparison of the ablation site surroundings recorded via scanning electron microscopy for the femtosecond Ti:Sapphire laser and the picosecond PALS laser is shown in Figure 11.  
The melting effect was most evident inside the craters created by the Bivoj laser under the flow of water (see Figure 10). The presence of water impeded the evaporation of the meteoritic material, and only melting processes occurred.  
Figure 10: Ablation site for the Bivoj laser on the chondritic meteorite Dho 1709, created under a flow of water without any evidence of altitude differences (**panel A**). Detailed image of the spot rim, showing the clear boarder of the irradiated area (**panel B**). Detailed structure of the sample surface inside the laser spot, indicating the significant melting of the meteorite (**panel C**).  
Figure 9: Ablation site for the Bivoj laser (ablation of the chondritic meteorite SaU 567 in air, 10 shots accumulated in one spot) examined by optical microscopy (**panel A**, white dashed square defines the singed areas around the spot), scanning electron microscopy (**panel B**), and optical profilometry (**panel C**). Ablation site for the Bivoj laser (ablation of the chondritic meteorite SaU 567 under water, 1 shot) examined by optical microscopy (**panel D**), scanning electron microscopy (**panel E**), and optical profilometry (**panel F**). The length of the spot’s edge is about 3.1 mm.  
In the case of the laser interaction with stony meteorite samples and the large olivine grains in the Seymchan pallasite, material chipping, dusting off, and crumbling were observed due to the mechanical stress caused by a laser pulse-induced shock. In the case of the Seymchan pallasite, no ablation spots with any signs of the olivine chipping were discovered. A visual comparison of the non-ablation effects of the PALS laser on the olivine phase and the Fe-Ni matrix is depicted in Figure 12, panel A. An example of the olivine grain damaged by the PALS laser is shown in Figure 12, panel B.  
In several cases, meteorite specimens with a thickness of about 1 mm and a diameter of about 4 cm did not withstand even the shock of a single PALS laser pulse, and were crushed into small pieces ranging in sizes from 1 cm to a few mm. Some meteorites were also broken because of the high pressure (1-5 GPa) acting on the samples while being irradiated under a continuous flow of water by the Bivoj laser.