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Zhang Y, Michel P, Barnouin OS, Roberts JH, Daly MG, Ballouz RL, Walsh KJ, Richardson DC, Hartzell CM, Lauretta DS. Inferring interiors and structural history of top-shaped asteroids from external properties of asteroid (101955) Bennu. Nat Commun 2022; 13:4589. [PMID: 35933392 PMCID: PMC9357032 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-32288-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2021] [Accepted: 07/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Asteroid interiors play a key role in our understanding of asteroid formation and evolution. As no direct interior probing has been done yet, characterisation of asteroids’ interiors relies on interpretations of external properties. Here we show, by numerical simulations, that the top-shaped rubble-pile asteroid (101955) Bennu’s geophysical response to spinup is highly sensitive to its material strength. This allows us to infer Bennu’s interior properties and provide general implications for top-shaped rubble piles’ structural evolution. We find that low-cohesion (≲0.78 Pa at surface and ≲1.3 Pa inside) and low-friction (friction angle ≲ 35∘) structures with several high-cohesion internal zones can consistently account for all the known geophysical characteristics of Bennu and explain the absence of moons. Furthermore, we reveal the underlying mechanisms that lead to different failure behaviours and identify the reconfiguration pathways of top-shaped asteroids as functions of their structural properties that either facilitate or prevent the formation of moons. Asteroid interiors are key to understand their formation and evolution. Here, the authors show that numerically simulated low-cohesion and low-friction structures with several high-cohesion internal zones can explain asteroid Bennu’s geophysical characteristics and the absence of the moons.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yun Zhang
- Université Côte d'Azur, Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur, CNRS, Laboratoire Lagrange, Nice, France. .,Department of Aerospace Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA.
| | - Patrick Michel
- Université Côte d'Azur, Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur, CNRS, Laboratoire Lagrange, Nice, France
| | - Olivier S Barnouin
- The Johns Hopkins University, Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD, USA
| | - James H Roberts
- The Johns Hopkins University, Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD, USA
| | - Michael G Daly
- The Centre for Research in Earth and Space Science, York University, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Ronald-L Ballouz
- The Johns Hopkins University, Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD, USA.,Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | | | | | - Christine M Hartzell
- Department of Aerospace Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
| | - Dante S Lauretta
- Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
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Walsh KJ, Ballouz RL, Jawin ER, Avdellidou C, Barnouin OS, Bennett CA, Bierhaus EB, Bos BJ, Cambioni S, Connolly HC, Delbo M, DellaGiustina DN, DeMartini J, Emery JP, Golish DR, Haas PC, Hergenrother CW, Ma H, Michel P, Nolan MC, Olds R, Rozitis B, Richardson DC, Rizk B, Ryan AJ, Sánchez P, Scheeres DJ, Schwartz SR, Selznick SH, Zhang Y, Lauretta DS. Near-zero cohesion and loose packing of Bennu's near subsurface revealed by spacecraft contact. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2022; 8:eabm6229. [PMID: 35857450 PMCID: PMC9262326 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abm6229] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/02/2023]
Abstract
When the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft pressed its sample collection mechanism into the surface of Bennu, it provided a direct test of the poorly understood near-subsurface physical properties of rubble-pile asteroids, which consist of rock fragments at rest in microgravity. Here, we find that the forces measured by the spacecraft are best modeled as a granular bed with near-zero cohesion that is half as dense as the bulk asteroid. The low gravity of a small rubble-pile asteroid such as Bennu effectively weakens its near subsurface by not compressing the upper layers, thereby minimizing the influence of interparticle cohesion on surface geology. The underdensity and weak near subsurface should be global properties of Bennu and not localized to the contact point.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevin J. Walsh
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO, USA
- Corresponding author.
| | - Ronald-Louis Ballouz
- Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD, USA
| | - Erica R. Jawin
- National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Chrysa Avdellidou
- Université Côte d’Azur, Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur, CNRS, Laboratoire Lagrange, Nice, France
| | | | - Carina A. Bennett
- Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | | | - Brent J. Bos
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
| | - Saverio Cambioni
- Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Harold C. Connolly
- Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
- Department of Geology, Rowan University, Glassboro, NJ, USA
| | - Marco Delbo
- Université Côte d’Azur, Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur, CNRS, Laboratoire Lagrange, Nice, France
| | | | - Joseph DeMartini
- Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
| | - Joshua P. Emery
- Department of Astronomy and Planetary Science, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, USA
| | - Dathon R. Golish
- Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | | | | | - Huikang Ma
- Lockheed Martin Space, Littleton, CO, USA
| | - Patrick Michel
- Université Côte d’Azur, Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur, CNRS, Laboratoire Lagrange, Nice, France
| | - Michael C. Nolan
- Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | - Ryan Olds
- Lockheed Martin Space, Littleton, CO, USA
| | - Benjamin Rozitis
- School of Physical Sciences, The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK
| | | | - Bashar Rizk
- Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | - Andrew J. Ryan
- Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | - Paul Sánchez
- Colorado Center for Astrodynamics Research, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - Daniel J. Scheeres
- Colorado Center for Astrodynamics Research, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
- Smead Aerospace Engineering Sciences Department, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - Stephen R. Schwartz
- Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
- Planetary Science Institute, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | | | - Yun Zhang
- Université Côte d’Azur, Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur, CNRS, Laboratoire Lagrange, Nice, France
| | - Dante S. Lauretta
- Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
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Walsh KJ, Bierhaus EB, Lauretta DS, Nolan MC, Ballouz RL, Bennett CA, Jawin ER, Barnouin OS, Berry K, Burke KN, Brodbeck B, Burns R, Clark BC, Clark BE, Cambioni S, Connolly HC, Daly MG, Delbo M, DellaGiustina DN, Dworkin JP, Enos HL, Emery JP, Gay P, Golish DR, Hamilton VE, Hoover R, Lujan M, McCoy T, Mink RG, Moreau MC, Nolau J, Padilla J, Pajola M, Polit AT, Robbins SJ, Ryan AJ, Selznick SH, Stewart S, Wolner CWV. Assessing the Sampleability of Bennu's Surface for the OSIRIS-REx Asteroid Sample Return Mission. SPACE SCIENCE REVIEWS 2022; 218:20. [PMID: 35528719 PMCID: PMC9018658 DOI: 10.1007/s11214-022-00887-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/28/2022] [Indexed: 05/18/2023]
Abstract
NASA's first asteroid sample return mission, OSIRIS-REx, collected a sample from the surface of near-Earth asteroid Bennu in October 2020 and will deliver it to Earth in September 2023. Selecting a sample collection site on Bennu's surface was challenging due to the surprising lack of large ponded deposits of regolith particles exclusively fine enough ( ≤ 2 cm diameter) to be ingested by the spacecraft's Touch-and-Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism (TAGSAM). Here we describe the Sampleability Map of Bennu, which was constructed to aid in the selection of candidate sampling sites and to estimate the probability of collecting sufficient sample. "Sampleability" is a numeric score that expresses the compatibility of a given area's surface properties with the sampling mechanism. The algorithm that determines sampleability is a best fit functional form to an extensive suite of laboratory testing outcomes tracking the TAGSAM performance as a function of four observable properties of the target asteroid. The algorithm and testing were designed to measure and subsequently predict TAGSAM collection amounts as a function of the minimum particle size, maximum particle size, particle size frequency distribution, and the tilt of the TAGSAM head off the surface. The sampleability algorithm operated at two general scales, consistent with the resolution and coverage of data collected during the mission. The first scale was global and evaluated nearly the full surface. Due to Bennu's unexpected boulder coverage and lack of ponded regolith deposits, the global sampleability efforts relied heavily on additional strategies to find and characterize regions of interest based on quantifying and avoiding areas heavily covered by material too large to be collected. The second scale was site-specific and used higher-resolution data to predict collected mass at a given contact location. The rigorous sampleability assessments gave the mission confidence to select the best possible sample collection site and directly enabled successful collection of hundreds of grams of material.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Dante S. Lauretta
- Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ USA
| | - Michael C. Nolan
- Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ USA
| | | | - Carina A. Bennett
- Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ USA
| | - Erica R. Jawin
- National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC USA
| | | | - Kevin Berry
- NASA Goddard Spaceflight Center, Greenbelt, MD USA
| | - Keara N. Burke
- Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ USA
| | - Bella Brodbeck
- Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ USA
| | - Rich Burns
- NASA Goddard Spaceflight Center, Greenbelt, MD USA
| | | | - Beth E. Clark
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Ithaca College, Ithaca, NY USA
| | - Saverio Cambioni
- Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA USA
| | - Harold C. Connolly
- Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ USA
- Department of Geology, Rowan University, Glassboro, NJ USA
| | - Michael G. Daly
- Centre for Research in Earth and Space Science, York University, Toronto, CA USA
| | - Marco Delbo
- CNRS-Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur, Nice, France
| | | | | | - Heather L. Enos
- Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ USA
| | | | - Pamela Gay
- University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL USA
| | - Dathon R. Golish
- Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ USA
| | | | | | - Michael Lujan
- Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ USA
| | - Timothy McCoy
- Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC USA
| | | | | | | | - Jacob Padilla
- Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ USA
| | | | - Anjani T. Polit
- Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ USA
| | | | - Andrew J. Ryan
- Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ USA
| | | | - Stephanie Stewart
- Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ USA
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