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