Abstract
During its approach to asteroid (101955) Bennu, NASA’s Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft surveyed Bennu’s immediate environment, photometric properties, and rotation state. Discovery of a dusty environment, a natural satellite, or unexpected asteroid characteristics would have had consequences for the mission’s safety and observation strategy. Here we show that spacecraft observations during this period were highly sensitive to satellites (sub-meter scale) but reveal none, although later navigational images indicate that further investigation is needed. We constrain average dust production in September 2018 from Bennu’s surface to an upper limit of 150 g s –1 averaged over 34 min. Bennu’s disk-integrated photometric phase function validates measurements from the pre-encounter astronomical campaign. We demonstrate that Bennu’s rotation rate is accelerating continuously at 3.63 ± 0.52 × 10 –6 degrees day –2 , likely due to the Yarkovsky–O’Keefe–Radzievskii–Paddack (YORP) effect, with evolutionary implications.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 1291 |
| Journal | Nature communications |
| Volume | 10 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Dec 1 2019 |
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ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Chemistry(all)
- Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology(all)
- Physics and Astronomy(all)
Cite this
The operational environment and rotational acceleration of asteroid (101955) Bennu from OSIRIS-REx observations. / The OSIRIS-REx Team.
In: Nature communications, Vol. 10, No. 1, 1291, 01.12.2019.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - The operational environment and rotational acceleration of asteroid (101955) Bennu from OSIRIS-REx observations
AU - The OSIRIS-REx Team
AU - Hergenrother, C. W.
AU - Maleszewski, C. K.
AU - Nolan, M. C.
AU - Li, J. Y.
AU - Drouet d’Aubigny, C. Y.
AU - Shelly, F. C.
AU - Howell, E. S.
AU - Kareta, T. R.
AU - Richar Izawa, Matthew
AU - Barucci, M. A.
AU - Bierhaus, E. B.
AU - Campins, H.
AU - Chesley, S. R.
AU - Clark, B. E.
AU - Christensen, E. J.
AU - DellaGiustina, D. N.
AU - Fornasier, S.
AU - Golish, D. R.
AU - Hartzell, C. M.
AU - Rizk, B.
AU - Scheeres, D. J.
AU - Smith, P. H.
AU - Zou, X. D.
AU - Lauretta, D. S.
AU - Highsmith, D. E.
AU - Small, J.
AU - Vokrouhlický, D.
AU - Bowles, N. E.
AU - Brown, E.
AU - Donaldson Hanna, K. L.
AU - Warren, T.
AU - Brunet, C.
AU - Chicoine, R. A.
AU - Desjardins, S.
AU - Gaudreau, D.
AU - Haltigin, T.
AU - Millington-Veloza, S.
AU - Rubi, A.
AU - Aponte, J.
AU - Gorius, N.
AU - Lunsford, A.
AU - Allen, B.
AU - Grindlay, J.
AU - Guevel, D.
AU - Hoak, D.
AU - Hong, J.
AU - Schrader, D. L.
AU - Bayron, J.
AU - Golubov, O.
AU - Sánchez, P.
PY - 2019/12/1
Y1 - 2019/12/1
N2 - During its approach to asteroid (101955) Bennu, NASA’s Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft surveyed Bennu’s immediate environment, photometric properties, and rotation state. Discovery of a dusty environment, a natural satellite, or unexpected asteroid characteristics would have had consequences for the mission’s safety and observation strategy. Here we show that spacecraft observations during this period were highly sensitive to satellites (sub-meter scale) but reveal none, although later navigational images indicate that further investigation is needed. We constrain average dust production in September 2018 from Bennu’s surface to an upper limit of 150 g s –1 averaged over 34 min. Bennu’s disk-integrated photometric phase function validates measurements from the pre-encounter astronomical campaign. We demonstrate that Bennu’s rotation rate is accelerating continuously at 3.63 ± 0.52 × 10 –6 degrees day –2 , likely due to the Yarkovsky–O’Keefe–Radzievskii–Paddack (YORP) effect, with evolutionary implications.
AB - During its approach to asteroid (101955) Bennu, NASA’s Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft surveyed Bennu’s immediate environment, photometric properties, and rotation state. Discovery of a dusty environment, a natural satellite, or unexpected asteroid characteristics would have had consequences for the mission’s safety and observation strategy. Here we show that spacecraft observations during this period were highly sensitive to satellites (sub-meter scale) but reveal none, although later navigational images indicate that further investigation is needed. We constrain average dust production in September 2018 from Bennu’s surface to an upper limit of 150 g s –1 averaged over 34 min. Bennu’s disk-integrated photometric phase function validates measurements from the pre-encounter astronomical campaign. We demonstrate that Bennu’s rotation rate is accelerating continuously at 3.63 ± 0.52 × 10 –6 degrees day –2 , likely due to the Yarkovsky–O’Keefe–Radzievskii–Paddack (YORP) effect, with evolutionary implications.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85063214884&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85063214884&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1038/s41467-019-09213-x
DO - 10.1038/s41467-019-09213-x
M3 - Article
C2 - 30890725
AN - SCOPUS:85063214884
VL - 10
JO - Nature Communications
JF - Nature Communications
SN - 2041-1723
IS - 1
M1 - 1291
ER -