Mathematics – Logic
Scientific paper
Jan 1996
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1996eiaf.conf....1b&link_type=abstract
Workshop on Evolution of Igneous Asteroids: Focus on Vesta and the HED Meterorites, p. 1
Mathematics
Logic
Asteroid Missions, Asteroids, Meteorites, Meteoritic Composition, Vesta Asteroid, Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous Mission, Extraterrestrial Matter, Spectroscopy
Scientific paper
Is Vesta Unique? There is no doubt that Vesta is unique today as the sole intact asteroid that has undergone complete planetary-style differentiation--all other basaltic (class V) asteroids can be explained as ejected fragments of Vesta's crust. However, its uniqueness may be limited to having escaped catastrophic removal of its outer crust by major impacts. There are three other classes of asteroids that might represent objects with similar igneous histories that have undergone more extensive collisional evolution. Is Vesta Typical? Inherent in the title of this workshop is the concept that one learns something in general about the evolution of igneous asteroids from Vesta and the HED meteorites. Actually, the howardite clan represents an extreme end member of igneous activity in meteorites. Is the Vesta Family Unique? Another feature of Vesta commonly considered unique is the large family of small basaltic asteroids extending from Vesta to the 3:1 resonant zone. This discovery solves the classical problem of how the HED meteorites are transported to Earth, but raises more problems. Direct injection of these objects into their present orbits would require large ejection velocities, previously thought impossible. All other well-defined families are much more concentrated in orbital element space. (Indeed, dynamical workers who originally identified the Vesta family gave it a much smaller extent than that later discovered by spectroscopy.) Should We Visit Vesta? A variety of spacecraft missions to Vesta have been proposed in the past, and this object will undoubtedly remain a seductive candidate for Discovery-class missions. Arguments in favor of Vesta include its large size, its unambiguous association with a well-studied meteorite class, and known complex mineralogical variations on its surface (which probably could be easily correlated with the various components of howardites). Indeed, one can argue that Vesta is a uniquely satisfying candidate for a remote-sensing asteroid mission, since the results would be far more understandable than the ambiguous results obtained to date from the Galileo observations of the class-S asteroids Gaspra and Ida. However, all these arguments boil down to the fact that we already understand Vesta so well that we can accurately predict the results of a mission. In terms of the huge variation in current properties and past history represented in the asteroid/meteorite complex, Vesta and the HEDs are the most conventional and Earth-like of all. At our current state of understanding, it appears more sensible to send the first asteroid missions to those classes of objects that are still truly mysterious, rather than the fifth terrestrial planet.
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