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Results for “asteroids, comets and Kuiper belt”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2020

Exogenic Basalt on Asteroid (101955) Bennu

When rubble-pile asteroid 2008 TC3 impacted Earth on October 7, 2008, the recovered rock fragments indicated that such asteroids can contain exogenic material. However, spacecraft missions to date have only observed exogenous contamination on large, monolithic asteroids that are impervious to collisional disruption. Here we report the presence of meter-scale exogenic boulders on the surface of near-Earth asteroid (101955) Bennu - the 0.5-km, rubble-pile target of the OSIRIS-REx mission which has been spectroscopically linked to the CM carbonaceous chondrite meteorites. Hyperspectral data indicate that the exogenic boulders have the same distinctive pyroxene composition as the howardite-eucrite-diogenite (HED) meteorites that come from (4) Vesta, a 525-km diameter asteroid that has undergone differentiation and extensive igneous processing. Delivery scenarios include the infall of Vesta fragments directly onto Bennu or indirectly onto Bennu’s parent body, where the latter’s disruption created Bennu from a mixture of endogenous and exogenic debris. Our findings demonstrate that rubble-pile asteroids can preserve evidence of inter-asteroid mixing that took place at macroscopic scales well after planetesimal formation ended. Accordingly, the presence of HED-like material on the surface of Bennu provides previously unrecognized constraints on the collisional and dynamical evolution of the inner main belt.

Asteroids↗
DOE OSTI2022

Incorporation of 16 O-rich anhydrous silicates in the protolith of highly hydrated asteroid Ryugu

The abundant phyllosilicate and carbonate minerals characterizing most of the returned particles from asteroid Ryugu suggest a history of extensive aqueous alteration on its parent body, similar to the rare mineralogically altered, but chemically primitive, CI (Ivuna-type) chondrite meteorites. Particle C0009 differs mineralogically from other Ryugu particles examined so far by containing anhydrous silicates at a level of ~0.5 vol%, and thus can help shed light on the unaltered original materials that constituted Ryugu’s protolith. In situ oxygen isotope measurements of the most Mg-rich olivine and pyroxene in C0009 reveal two populations of Δ 17 O: –25‰ to –15‰ and –8‰ to –3‰. The former and the latter populations correlate well with silicate morphologies similar to those seen in amoeboid olivine aggregates and chondrule phenocrysts, respectively, both of which are abundant in less aqueously altered carbonaceous chondrites. Here, this result also highlights the presence of olivine with Δ 17 O close to the solar value in either a CI chondrite or an asteroid with CI-chondrite characteristics, and provides strong evidence that amoeboid olivine aggregates and Mg-rich chondrules accreted into Ryugu’s protolith. Our data also raise the possibility that the protoliths of CI and other carbonaceous chondrites incorporated similar anhydrous silicates.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

Insight into multi-step geological evolution of C-type asteroids from Ryugu particles

C-type asteroids are the source of the carbonaceous chondrite meteorites and represent remnants of primitive planetesimals that formed at the outer margins of the early Solar System and may have delivered volatiles to the inner Solar System, in particular the early Earth. However, the nature of carbonaceous chondrites is not well understood owing to terrestrial alteration. Here, in this work, we present the petrology and mineral chemistry of surface materials collected by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) Hayabusa2 spacecraft from the C-type asteroid Ryugu. The Ryugu particles we studied are similar to CI (Ivuna-type) chondrites but with some important differences, such as the presence of Na–Mg phosphates and Na-rich phases and the lack of ferrihydrite and gypsum. Ryugu particles experienced several steps of aqueous alteration, metasomatism and brecciation under variable conditions. These materials represent mixed lithologies and formed at different locations within their parent asteroid. The evidence presented here demonstrates that the C-type asteroid Ryugu experienced a complex geologic evolution shortly after its formation.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

A history of mild shocks experienced by the regolith particles on hydrated asteroid Ryugu

Micrometeorites, a possible major source of Earth’s water, are thought to form from explosive dispersal of hydrated chondritic materials during impact events on their parental asteroids. However, this provenance and formation mechanism have yet to be directly confirmed using asteroid returned samples. Here, we report evidence of mild shock metamorphism in the surface particles of asteroid Ryugu based on electron microscopy. All particles are dominated by phyllosilicates but lack dehydration textures, which are indicative of shock-heating temperatures below ~500°C. Microfault-like textures associated with extensively shock-deformed framboidal magnetites and a high-pressure polymorph of Fe–Cr–sulfide have been identified. These findings indicate that the average peak pressure was ~2 GPa. The vast majority of ejecta formed during impact on Ryugu-like asteroids would be hydrated materials, larger than a millimetre, originating far from the impact point. These characteristics are inconsistent with current micrometeorite production models, and consequently, a new formation mechanism is required.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2024

Physical properties of asteroid Dimorphos as derived from the DART impact

On 26 September 2022, NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission successfully impacted Dimorphos, the natural satellite of the binary near-Earth asteroid (65803) Didymos. Numerical simulations of the impact provide a means to find the surface material properties and structures of the target that are consistent with the observed momentum deflection efficiency, ejecta cone geometry and ejected mass. Our simulation that best matches the observations indicates that Dimorphos is weak, with a cohesive strength of less than a few pascals, like asteroids (162173) Ryugu and (101955) Bennu. We find that the bulk density of Dimorphos ρ B is lower than ~2,400 kg m – 3 and that it has a low volume fraction of boulders (≲40 vol%) on the surface and in the shallow subsurface, which are consistent with data measured by the DART experiment. These findings suggest that Dimorphos is a rubble pile that might have formed through rotational mass shedding and reaccumulation from Didymos. Our simulations indicate that the DART impact caused global deformation and resurfacing of Dimorphos. ESA’s upcoming Hera mission may find a reshaped asteroid rather than a well-defined crater.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2025

The variety and origin of materials accreted by Bennu’s parent asteroid

The first bodies to form in the Solar System acquired their materials from stars, the presolar molecular cloud and the protoplanetary disk. Asteroids that have not undergone planetary differentiation retain evidence of these primary accreted materials. However, geologic processes such as hydrothermal alteration can dramatically change their bulk mineralogy, isotopic compositions and chemistry. Here we analyse the elemental and isotopic compositions of samples from asteroid Bennu to uncover the sources and types of material accreted by its parent body. We show that some primary accreted materials escaped the extensive aqueous alteration that occurred on the parent asteroid, including presolar grains from ancient stars, organic matter from the outer Solar System or molecular cloud, refractory solids that formed close to the Sun, and dust enriched in neutron-rich Ti isotopes. We find Bennu to be richer in isotopically anomalous organic matter, anhydrous silicates, and light isotopes of K and Zn than its closest compositional counterparts, asteroid Ryugu and Ivuna-type (CI) carbonaceous chondrite meteorites. We propose that the parent bodies of Bennu, Ryugu and CI chondrites formed from a common but spatially and/or temporally heterogeneous reservoir of materials in the outer protoplanetary disk.

Kuiper belt↗
DOE OSTI2023

Momentum Transfer from the DART Mission Kinetic Impact on Asteroid Dimorphos

The NASA Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission performed a kinetic impact on asteroid Dimorphos, the satellite of the binary asteroid (65803) Didymos, at 23:14 UTC on 26 September 2022 as a planetary defence test. DART was the first hypervelocity impact experiment on an asteroid at size and velocity scales relevant to planetary defence, intended to validate kinetic impact as a means of asteroid deflection. Here we report a determination of the momentum transferred to an asteroid by kinetic impact. On the basis of the change in the binary orbit period, we find an instantaneous reduction in Dimorphos’s along-track orbital velocity component of 2.70 ± 0.10 mm s -1 , indicating enhanced momentum transfer due to recoil from ejecta streams produced by the impact. For a Dimorphos bulk density range of 1,500 to 3,300 kg m -3 , we find that the expected value of the momentum enhancement factor, β, ranges between 2.2 and 4.9, depending on the mass of Dimorphos. If Dimorphos and Didymos are assumed to have equal densities of 2,400 kg m -3 , β=3.61$^{+0.19}_{-0.25}$(1σ) . These β values indicate that substantially more momentum was transferred to Dimorphos from the escaping impact ejecta than was incident with DART. Therefore, the DART kinetic impact was highly effective in deflecting the asteroid Dimorphos.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS2005

Dynamical Zodiacal Cloud Models Constrained by High Resolution Spectroscopy of the Zodiacal Light

We have developed a set of self-consistent dynamical models of the Zodiacal cloud, following the orbital evolution of dust particles. Three populations were considered, originating from the Kuiper belt, asteroids and comets. Using the models developed, we investigated how the solar spectrum is changed by scattering by the zodiacal cloud grains and compared the obtained spectra with the observations.

Ipatov, S. I.↗
NASA NTRS2008

Observing Solar System Objects with the James Webb Space Telescope

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will have the capability to observe Solar System objects having apparent rates of motion up to 30 milliarcseconds/sec. The key science drivers are the study of Kuiper Belt Objects, asteroids, comets, and the outer planets and their moons at near and mid-infrared wavelengths. This poster presents the results from a recent study that defined the conceptual design for a capability for JWST to track and observe moving targets. We illustrate about how guide star acquisition and tracking wi11 be handled while retaining the efficient and flexible execution characteristics of JWST event-driven operations. We also show how the JWST pointing control system can readily support moving target observations. The characteristics of Solar System objects that can be observed by JWST are summarized along with descriptions of the major aspects of moving target science observation planning and on-board event-driven execution.

Sonneborn, George↗
NASA NTRS2021

Thermally Altered Subsurface Material of Asteroid 162173 Ryugu

Studies of meteorite analysis and theoretical modeling have indicated the possibility that some carbonaceous near-Earth asteroids are thermally altered due to radiative heating during close approaches to the Sun in addition to parent body processes (Nakamura, 2005; Marchi et al., 2009; Chaumard et al., 2012). In April 2019, the Hayabusa2 mission successfully completed an artificial impact experiment on the carbonaceous near-Earth asteroid 162173 Ryugu (Arakawa et al., 2020), which provided an opportunity to investigate the effects of radiative heating through the exposed subsurface material. Here we report observations of the Ryugu’s subsurface material by the Near-Infrared Spectrometer (NIRS3) on the Hayabusa2 spacecraft. Spectra of the subsurface material exhibit a slightly stronger and peak-shifted hydroxyl absorption feature compared to that observed for the surface, indicating that space weathering and/or radiative heating caused a subtle change in the spectrum of Ryugu surface. However, the shape of the absorption feature still suggests that the subsurface material experienced heating above 300 ˚C similar to the surface. In contrast, our thermal modeling shows that radiative heating does not increase the subsurface temperature at 1 m depth above 200 ˚C even if the semimajor axis is reduced down to 0.344 au. This supports that the Ryugu material would have been preferentially altered due to radiogenic and/or impact heating on the parent body rather than radiative heating.

Asteroids↗
NASA NTRS2022

Crater Population on Asteroid (101955) Bennu Indicates Impact Armouring and a Young Surface

The impactor-to-crater size scaling relationships that enable estimates of planetary surface ages rely on an accurate formulation of impactor–target physics. An armouring regime, specific to rubble-pile surfaces, has been proposed to occur when an impactor is comparable in diameter to a target surface particle (for example, a boulder). Armouring is proposed to reduce crater diameter, or prevent crater formation in the asteroid surface, at small crater diameters. Here, using measurements of 1,560 craters on the rubble-pile asteroid (101955) Bennu, we show that the boulder population controls a transition from crater formation to armouring at crater diameters ~2–3 m, below which crater formation in the bulk surface is increasingly rare. By combining estimates of impactor flux with the armouring scaling relationship, we find that Bennu’s crater retention age (surface age derived from crater abundance) spans from 1.6–2.2 Myr for craters less than a few meters to ~10–65 Myr for craters >100 m in diameter, reducing the maximum surface age by a factor of >15 relative to previous estimates. The range of crater retention ages, together with latitudinal variations in large-crater spatial density, indicate that ongoing resurfacing processes render the surface many times younger than the bulk asteroid.

Asteroids↗
NASA NTRS2023

Ryugu Asteroid Sample Return Provides A Natural Laboratory for Primordial Chemical Evolution

The samples returned from near-Earth asteroid (162173) Ryugu provide a pristine record of the 4.6 billion years since the birth of the Solar System. The Hayabusa2 initial analysis team has integrated a range of analytical techniques to investigate Ryugu’s organic chemistry. Here, we highlight their latest findings, the potential questions which may be answered, and provide an overview of new prospects in the decade to come.

Asteroids↗
DOE OSTI2025

An evaporite sequence from ancient brine recorded in Bennu samples

Evaporation or freezing of water-rich fluids with dilute concentrations of dissolved salts can produce brines, as observed in closed basins on Earth and detected by remote sensing on icy bodies in the outer Solar System. The mineralogical evolution of these brines is well understood in regard to terrestrial environments, but poorly constrained for extraterrestrial systems owing to a lack of direct sampling. Here we report the occurrence of salt minerals in samples of the asteroid (101955) Bennu returned by the OSIRIS-REx mission. These include sodium-bearing phosphates and sodium-rich carbonates, sulfates, chlorides and fluorides formed during evaporation of a late-stage brine that existed early in the history of Bennu’s parent body. Discovery of diverse salts would not be possible without mission sample return and careful curation and storage, because these decompose with prolonged exposure to Earth’s atmosphere. Similar brines probably still occur in the interior of icy bodies Ceres and Enceladus, as indicated by spectra or measurement of sodium carbonate on the surface or in plumes.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS2007

P/2006 HR30 (Siding Spring): A Low-activity Comet in Near-Earth Space

The low cometary activity of P/2006 HR30 (Siding Spring) allowed a unique opportunity to study the nucleus of a periodic comet while near perihelion. P/2006 HR30 was originally targeted as a potential extinct comet, and we measured spectral reflectance and dust production using long-slit CCD spectroscopy and wide-field imaging obtained at the Palomar Mountain 200 inch telescope on 2006 August 3 and 4. The dust production Afp = 19.7 +/- 0.4 cm and mass-loss rate Q(dust) 4.1 +/- 0.1 kg/sec of the comet were approximately 2 orders of magnitude dust less than 1P/Halley at similar heliocentric distance. The VRI colors derived from the spectral reflectance were compared to Kuiper Belt objects, Centaurs, and other cometary nuclei. We found that the spectrum of P/2006 HR30 was consistent with other comets. However, the outer solar system bodies have a color distribution statistically distinct from cometary nuclei. It is our conjecture that cometary activity, most likely the reaccretion of ejected cometary dust, tends to moderate and mute the visible colors of the surface of cometary nuclei.

comets↗
DOE OSTI2021

Solar wind contributions to Earth’s oceans

The isotopic composition of water in Earth’s oceans is challenging to recreate using a plausible mixture of known extraterrestrial sources such as asteroids—an additional isotopically light reservoir is required. The Sun’s solar wind could provide an answer to balance Earth’s water budget. Here, we used atom probe tomography to directly observe an average ~1 mol% enrichment in water and hydroxyls in the solar-wind-irradiated rim of an olivine grain from the S-type asteroid Itokawa. We also experimentally confirm that H + irradiation of silicate mineral surfaces produces water molecules. These results suggest that the Itokawa regolith could contain ~20 l m -3 of solar-wind-derived water and that such water reservoirs are probably ubiquitous on airless worlds throughout our Galaxy. The production of this isotopically light water reservoir by solar wind implantation into fine-grained silicates may have been a particularly important process in the early Solar System, potentially providing a means to recreate Earth’s current water isotope ratios.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Early fluid activity on Ryugu inferred by isotopic analyses of carbonates and magnetite

Samples from asteroid Ryugu returned by the Hayabusa2 mission contain evidence of extensive alteration by aqueous fluids and appear related to the CI chondrites. To understand the sources of the fluid and the timing of chemical reactions occurring during the alteration processes, we investigated the oxygen, carbon and 53 Mn– 53 Cr systematics of carbonate and magnetite in two Ryugu particles. Here we find that the fluid was initially between 0 and 20 °C and enriched in 13 C, 17 O and 18 O, and subsequently evolved towards lighter carbon and oxygen isotopic compositions as alteration proceeded. Carbonate ages show that this fluid–rock interaction took place within approximately the first 1.8 million years of Solar System history, requiring early accretion either in a planetesimal less than ~20 km in diameter or within a larger body that was disrupted and reassembled.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2024

Constraints on fifth forces and ultralight dark matter from OSIRIS-REx target asteroid Bennu

It is important to test the possible existence of fifth forces, as ultralight bosons that would mediate these are predicted to exist in several well-motivated extensions of the Standard Model. Recent work indicated asteroids as promising probes, but applications to real data are lacking so far. Here we use the OSIRIS-REx mission and ground-based tracking data for the asteroid Bennu to derive constraints on fifth forces. Our limits are strongest for mediator masses m ~ (10 -18 -10 -17 ) eV, where we currently achieve the tightest bounds. These can be translated to a wide class of models leading to Yukawa-type fifth forces, and we demonstrate how they apply to U(1) B dark photons and baryon-coupled scalars. Our results demonstrate the potential of asteroid tracking in probing well-motivated extensions of the Standard Model and ultralight bosons near the fuzzy dark matter range.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
NASA NTRS2018

Solar System Science with the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope

We present a community-led assessment of the solar system investigations achievable with NASA's next-generation space telescope, the Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST). WFIRST will provide imaging, spectroscopic, and coronagraphic capabilities from 0.43 to 2.0 m and will be a potential contemporary and eventual successor to the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). Surveys of irregular satellites and minor bodies are where WFIRST will excel with its 0.28 deg2 field-of-view Wide Field Instrument. Potential ground- breaking discoveries from WFIRST could include detection of the first minor bodies orbiting in the inner Oort Cloud, identification of additional Earth Trojan asteroids, and the discovery and characterization of asteroid binary systems similar to Ida/Dactyl. Additional investigations into asteroids, giant planet satellites, Trojan asteroids, Centaurs, Kuiper belt objects, and comets are presented. Previous use of astrophysics assets for solar system science and synergies between WFIRST, Large Synoptic Survey Telescope, JWST, and the proposed Near-Earth Object Camera mission is discussed. We also present the case for implementation of moving target tracking, a feature that will benefit from the heritage of JWST and enable a broader range of solar system observations.

Holler, Bryan J.↗