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General
This project studies the physical and compositional properties of the so-called minor bodies of the Solar System, that includes asteroids, icy objects, and comets. Of special interest are the trans-neptunian objects (TNOs), including those considered the most distant objects detected so far (Extreme-TNOs or ETNOs); the comets and the comet-asteroid transitional objects (Centaurs and main belt comets or MBCs); the primitive asteroids. The last two groups contain the most primordial and pristine material of the Solar System and so they provide the clues to understand the origin and the subsequent evolution of our system. Among asteroid population, the near-Earth asteroids or NEAs, as well as the potentially hazardous asteroids (PHAs) are of particular interest: due to their proximity to the Earth, they are the most accesible to spacecraft and so are ideal for in-situ or even sample-return space missions. In addition they are considered as future potential resources of materials (asteroid mining), and they are also impact hazards for the Earth. Regarding primitive asteroids, it is remarkable the spectroscopic survey (visible and near-infrared) led by the PI of this project (PRIMitive Asteroids Spectroscopic Survey - PRIMASS). This survey received financial support from NASA (17-PDART17_2-0097, PI: N. Pinilla-Alonso, 137.000€ - 2 years) in order to upload and archive at the Small Bodies Node of the NASA Planetary Data System the more than 800 spectra obtained.
The compositional surface properties, as well as the physical and thermal properties of these objects are inferred through imaging, photometry, and spectroscopy in a wide range of wavelengths (from 0.35 up to 24 microns). Data are interpreted using scattering and thermo-physical models. This project works also in the study of the physical properties of the cometary nuclei, as well as properties of dust and coma in the tails of the MBCs and the mechanisms that generate them.
This group maintains several international collaborations with other groups, and some of their members are also members of (1) the Science Team of the NASA OSIRIS-REx mission, in particular the Image Processing Working Group, were they work with the images obtained with the OCAMS suite of cameras; (2) the coordination of an international group to study NEAs (EURONEAR); (3) the central core of the proponents of ESA M5 missions CASTALIA, CASTAway, and Hera; (4) the Center for Lunar and Asteroid Surface Science - CLASS (NASA); (5) the Solar System group of the Euclid consortium; (6) the surveys J-PLUS and J-PASS for the exploitation of observations of Solar System objects; (7) the Solar System working group of Gaia and JWST.
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Scientific activity
Related publications
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Characterisation of the new target of the NASA Lucy mission: Asteroid 152830 Dinkinesh (1999 VD57)Context. The NASA Lucy mission is designed to collect data that will be used to study the very interesting population of Jupiter Trojans, which are considered to be time capsules from the time of birth of our Solar System. During its journey, the mission will pass near a main belt asteroid, Donaldjohanson. Recently, NASA announced that a newde León, J. et al.
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Near-ultraviolet absorption distribution of primitive asteroids from spectrophotometric surveys. I. Radial distributionContext. Hydrated minerals, such as phyllosilicates, on asteroids can provide constraints on the temperature or compositional distribution of the early Solar System. Previous studies pointed out the possibility that absorption in the near-ultraviolet (NUV, 0.35-0.5 μm) wavelength region is a proxy for hydrated minerals in primitive asteroidsTatsumi, E. et al.
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42023 -
Morphology and spectral properties of the DART impact ejecta with VLT/MUSEContext. On September 26, 2022, the NASA DART mission impacted the asteroid Dimorphos, the smaller component of the Didymos binary asteroid system. This provided a unique opportunity to observe, in real time, the evolution of the ejecta cloud produced by the impact and the formation of a tail. Aims: We present observations performed with the MUSEOpitom, C. et al.
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32023 -
A dehydrated space-weathered skin cloaking the hydrated interior of RyuguWithout a protective atmosphere, space-exposed surfaces of airless Solar System bodies gradually experience an alteration in composition, structure and optical properties through a collective process called space weathering. The return of samples from near-Earth asteroid (162173) Ryugu by Hayabusa2 provides the first opportunity for laboratoryNoguchi, Takaaki et al.
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22023 -
A Candidate Location for Planet Nine from an Interstellar Meteoroid: The Messenger HypothesisThe existence of a hypothetical Planet Nine lurking in the outer solar system has been invoked as a plausible explanation for the anomalous clustering in the orbits of trans-Neptunian objects. Here we propose that some meteoroids arriving at Earth could serve as messengers with the potential of revealing the presence of a hitherto undiscoveredSocas-Navarro, Hector
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32023 -
Mini-moons from horseshoes: A physical characterization of 2022 NX<SUB>1</SUB> with OSIRIS at the 10.4 m Gran Telescopio CanariasContext. The near-Earth orbital space is shared by natural objects and space debris that can be temporarily captured in geocentric orbits. Short-term natural satellites are often called mini-moons. Reflectance spectroscopy can determine the true nature of transient satellites because the spectral signatures of spacecraft materials and near-Earthde la Fuente Marcos, R. et al.
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22023 -
Asteroids' reflectance from Gaia DR3: Artificial reddening at near-UV wavelengthsContext. Observational and instrumental difficulties observing small bodies below 0.5 μm make this wavelength range poorly studied compared with the visible and near-infrared. Furthermore, the suitability of many commonly used solar analogues, essential in the computation of asteroid reflectances, is usually assessed only in visible wavelengthsTinaut-Ruano, F. et al.
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12023 -
First asteroid gas sample delivered by the Hayabusa2 mission: A treasure box from RyuguThe Hayabusa2 spacecraft returned to Earth from the asteroid 162173 Ryugu on 6 December 2020. One day after the recovery, the gas species retained in the sample container were extracted and measured on-site and stored in gas collection bottles. The container gas consists of helium and neon with an extraterrestrial 3He/4He and 20Ne/22Ne ratiosOkazaki R. et al et al.
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112022 -
A dehydrated space-weathered skin cloaking the hydrated interior of RyuguWithout a protective atmosphere, space-exposed surfaces of airless Solar System bodies gradually experience an alteration in composition, structure and optical properties through a collective process called space weathering. The return of samples from near-Earth asteroid (162173) Ryugu by Hayabusa2 provides the first opportunity for laboratory
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122022 -
Samples returned from the asteroid Ryugu are similar to Ivuna-type carbonaceous meteoritesCarbonaceous meteorites are thought to be fragments of C-type (carbonaceous) asteroids. Samples of the C-type asteroid (162173) Ryugu were retrieved by the Hayabusa2 spacecraft. We measure the mineralogy, bulk chemical and isotopic compositions of Ryugu samples. They are mainly composed of materials similar to carbonaceous chondrite meteoritesYokoyama, T. et al.
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32023 -
Formation and evolution of carbonaceous asteroid Ryugu: Direct evidence from returned samplesSamples of the carbonaceous asteroid Ryugu were brought to Earth by the Hayabusa2 spacecraft. We analyzed seventeen Ryugu samples measuring 1-8 mm. CO2-bearing water inclusions are present within a pyrrhotite crystal, indicating that Ryugu’s parent asteroid formed in the outer Solar System. The samples contain low abundances of materials thatNakamura T. et al. et al.
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32023 -
Noble gases and nitrogen in samples of asteroid Ryugu record its volatile sources and recent surface evolutionThe near-Earth carbonaceous asteroid (162173) Ryugu is expected to contain volatile chemical species that could provide information on the origin of Earth’s volatiles. Samples of Ryugu were retrieved by the Hayabusa2 spacecraft. We measure noble gas and nitrogen isotopes in Ryugu samples, finding they are dominated by pre-solar and primordialOkazaki R. et al et al.
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102022 -
Mineralogical analysis of 14 PHAs from ViNOS dataPotentially hazardous asteroids (PHAs) are objects that can have close encounters with Earth and are significantly large to cause significant regional damage in the event of impact. The mitigation strategy requires to understand their physical properties. We aim to investigate the physical nature of PHAs, using data obtained within the framework ofMorate, D. et al.
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22023 -
Lightcurve analysis of near-Earth objects from the IMPACTON project: Evidence of binary systems and cohesion strengthRotations of asteroids have been set and altered by several processes since their formation. In the case of the near-Earth objects (NEOs), the rotational states are significantly affected by non-gravitational effects. In addition, an abundant population of binary systems has been found among NEOs with rotational periods very close to the spinMonteiro, Filipe et al.
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12023 -
A targeted search for Main Belt CometsMain Belt Comets (MBCs) exhibit sublimation-driven activity while occupying asteroid-like orbits in the Main Asteroid Belt. MBCs and candidates show stronger clustering of their longitudes of perihelion around 15° than other objects from the Outer Main Belt (OMB). This potential property of MBCs could facilitate the discovery of new candidates byFerellec, Léa et al.
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12023 -
Site selection for the Hayabusa2 artificial cratering and subsurface material sampling on RyuguHayabusa2 took on the challenge of collecting fresh subsurface samples from asteroid (162173) Ryugu during its second touchdown operation. For this ambitious goal, the spacecraft conducted artificial cratering by using a small carry-on impactor (SCI), leading to the exposure of subsurface materials. The key to mission success lies in the targetKikuchi, Shota et al.
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92022 -
Resurfacing processes constrained by crater distribution on RyuguUnderstanding the geological modification processes on asteroids is fundamental for elucidating their surface evolution. Images of small asteroids from spacecrafts show a depletion in smaller craters. Seismic shaking was considered to be responsible for erasing such small craters and the main driver modifying the geology of asteroids. However, aTakaki, Naofumi et al.
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52022 -
Pebbles and sand on asteroid (162173) Ryugu: In situ observation and particles returned to EarthThe Hayabusa2 spacecraft investigated the C-type (carbonaceous) asteroid (162173) Ryugu. The mission performed two landing operations to collect samples of surface and subsurface material, the latter exposed by an artificial impact. We present images of the second touchdown site, finding that ejecta from the impact crater was present at the sampleWatanabe, S. et al.
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32022 -
Detection of the Irregular Shape of the Southern Limb of Menoetius from Observations of the 2017-2018 Patroclus-Menoetius Mutual EventsThis work presents the analysis of seven mutual events of the Patroclus-Menoetius system (PMS) observed during the last season of mutual events, in 2017-2018. We compare the obtained light curves with those predicted using Grundy et al. and discuss the differences in the timing of the events and the drop of magnitude. Based on models of thesePinilla-Alonso, Noemí et al.
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122022 -
Characterization of the MASCOT landing area by Hayabusa2Context. After landing on C-type asteroid Ryugu, MASCOT imaged brightly colored, submillimeter-sized inclusions in a small rock. Hayabusa2 successfully returned a sample of small particles from the surface of Ryugu, but none of these appear to harbor such inclusions. The samples are considered representative of Ryugu. Aims: To understand theSchröder, Stefan et al.
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102022
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