Deep Interior Mission: Imaging the Interior of Near-Earth Asteroids Using Radio Reflection Tomography

Details Deep Interior Mission: Imaging the Interior of Near-Earth Asteroids Using Radio Reflection Tomography Deep Interior Mission: Imaging the Interior of Near-Earth Asteroids Using Radio Reflection Tomography

Dec 2004

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2004dps....36.1422s&link_type=abstract

American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #36, #14.22; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 36, p.1097

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astronomy

Scientific paper

Near-Earth asteroids are important exploration targets since they provide clues to the evolution of the solar system. They are also of interest since they present a clear danger to Earth in the future. Our mission objective is to image the internal structure of two NEOs using radio reflection tomography (RRT), in order to explore the record of asteroid origin and impact evolution, and to test the fundamental hypothesis that these important members of the solar system are rubble piles rather than consolidated bodies.
Our mission's RRT technique is analogous to doing a ``CAT scan" of the asteroid from orbit. Closely sampled radar echoes are processed to yield volumetric maps of mechanical and compositional boundaries, and measure interior material dielectric properties.
The RRT instrument is a radar that operates at 5 and 15 MHz with two 30-m (tip-to-tip) dipole antennas that are used in a cross-dipole configuration. The radar transmitter and receiver electronics have heritage from JPL's MARSIS contribution to Mars Express, and the antenna is similar to systems used in IMAGE and LACE missions. The 5-MHz channel is designed to penetrate >1 km of basaltic rock, and 15-MHz penetrates a few hundred meters or more.
In addition to RRT volumetric imaging, we use a redundant color cameras to explore the surface expressions of unit boundaries, in order to relate interior radar imaging to what is observable from spacecraft imaging and from Earth. The camera also yields stereo color imaging for geology and RRT-related compositional analysis. Gravity and high fidelity geodesy are used to explore how interior structure is expressed in shape, density, mass distribution and spin.
Deep interior has two targets (S-type 1999 ND43 and V-type Nyx ) whose composition bracket the diversity of solar system materials that we are likely to encounter, and are richly complementary.

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