Asteroid

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For other uses, see Asteroid (disambiguation).

Images of visited asteroids illustrating their difference: 243 Ida with its moon Dactyl
(the 1–2 km sized dot to the right), 433 Eros the first asteroid orbited and landed on
(2001) and Ceres a considerably larger asteroid and dwarf planet 1,000 km across.
An asteroid is a minor planet of the inner Solar System. Sizes and shapes of
asteroids vary significantly, ranging from 1-meter rocks to a dwarf planet almost
1000 km in diameter; they are rocky, metallic or icy bodies with no atmosphere.
Of the roughly one million known asteroids[1] the greatest number are located between
the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, approximately 2 to 4 AU from the Sun, in the
 main asteroid belt. Asteroids are generally classified to be of three types: C-type, M-
type, and S-type. These were named after and are generally identified
with carbonaceous, metallic, and silicaceous compositions, respectively. The sizes of
asteroids varies greatly; the largest, Ceres, is almost 1,000 km (600 mi) across and
qualifies as a dwarf planet. The total mass of all the asteroids combined is only 3%
that of Earth's Moon. The majority of main belt asteroids follow slightly elliptical, stable
orbits, revolving in the same direction as the Earth and taking from three to six years
to complete a full circuit of the Sun.[2]
Asteroids have been historically observed from Earth; the Galileo spacecraft provided
the first close observation of an asteroid. Several dedicated missions to asteroids were
subsequently launched by NASA and JAXA, with plans for other missions in progress.
NASA's NEAR Shoemaker studied Eros, and Dawn observed Vesta and Ceres.
JAXA's missions Hayabusa and Hayabusa2 studied and returned samples
of Itokawa and Ryugu, respectively. OSIRIS-REx studied Bennu, collecting a sample
in 2020 to be delivered back to Earth in 2023. Lucy, launched in 2021, has an itinerary
including eight different asteroids, one from the main belt and seven Jupiter
trojans. Psyche, to be launched in 2023 or 2024, will study a metallic asteroid of the
same name.
Near-Earth asteroids can threaten all life on the planet; an asteroid impact
event resulted in the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction. Different asteroid deflection
strategies have been proposed; Double Asteroid Redirection Test was launched in
2021 and has intentionally impacted into Dimorphos in September 2022, in an attempt
to alter the asteroid's orbit by crashing into it.

Contents

 1History of observations
o 1.1Discovery of Ceres
o 1.2Further search
o 1.319th and 20th centuries
 2Naming
o 2.1Symbols
 3Terminology
 4Formation
 5Distribution within the Solar System
o 5.1Asteroid belt
o 5.2Trojans
o 5.3Near-Earth asteroids
o 5.4Martian moons
 6Characteristics
o 6.1Size distribution
 6.1.1Largest asteroids
o 6.2Rotation
o 6.3Color
o 6.4Surface features
o 6.5Composition
  6.5.1Water
 6.5.2Organic compounds
 7Classification
o 7.1Orbital classification
o 7.2Spectral classification
 7.2.1Problems
o 7.3Active asteroids
 8Exploration
o 8.1Ground-based observations
o 8.2Space-based observations
o 8.3Space probe missions
 8.3.1Dedicated missions
 8.3.2Planned missions
 9Asteroid mining
 10Threats to Earth
o 10.1Chicxulub impact
o 10.2Asteroid deflection strategies
 11Fiction
 12See also
 13Notes
 14References
 15Further reading
 16External links

History of observations[edit]
Only one asteroid, 4 Vesta, which has a relatively reflective surface, is normally visible
to the naked eye. When favorably positioned, 4 Vesta can be seen in dark skies.
Rarely, small asteroids passing close to Earth may be visible to the naked eye for a
short time.[3] As of April 2022, the Minor Planet Center had data on 1,199,224 minor
planets in the inner and outer Solar System, of which about 614,690 had enough
information to be given numbered designations.[4]
Discovery of Ceres[edit]
In 1772, German astronomer Johann Elert Bode, citing Johann Daniel Titius,
published a numerical procession known as the Titius–Bode law (now discredited).
Except for an unexplained gap between Mars and Jupiter, Bode's formula seemed to
predict the orbits of the known planets.[5][6] He wrote the following explanation for the
existence of a "missing planet":
This latter point seems in particular to follow from the astonishing relation which the
known six planets observe in their distances from the Sun. Let the distance from the
Sun to Saturn be taken as 100, then Mercury is separated by 4 such parts from the
Sun. Venus is 4 + 3 = 7. The Earth 4 + 6 = 10. Mars 4 + 12 = 16. Now comes a gap in
this so orderly progression. After Mars there follows a space of 4 + 24 = 28 parts, in
which no planet has yet been seen. Can one believe that the Founder of the universe
had left this space empty? Certainly not. From here we come to the distance of Jupiter
by 4 + 48 = 52 parts, and finally to that of Saturn by 4 + 96 = 100 parts.[7]
Bode's formula predicted another planet would be found with an orbital radius near
2.8 astronomical units (AU), or 420 million km, from the Sun.[6] The Titius–Bode law
got a boost with William Herschel's discovery of Uranus near the predicted distance
for a planet beyond Saturn.[5] In 1800, a group headed by Franz Xaver von Zach,
editor of the German astronomical journal Monatliche Correspondenz (Monthly
Correspondence), sent requests to 24 experienced astronomers (whom he dubbed
the "celestial police"),[6] asking that they combine their efforts and begin a methodical
search for the expected planet.[6] Although they did not discover Ceres, they later
found the asteroids 2 Pallas, 3 Juno and 4 Vesta.[6]
One of the astronomers selected for the search was Giuseppe Piazzi, a Catholic priest
at the Academy of Palermo, Sicily. Before receiving his invitation to join the group,
Piazzi discovered Ceres on 1 January 1801.[8] He was searching for "the 87th [star] of
the Catalogue of the Zodiacal stars of Mr la Caille",[5] but found that "it was preceded
by another".[5] Instead of a star, Piazzi had found a moving star-like object, which he
first thought was a comet:[9]
The light was a little faint, and of the colour of Jupiter, but similar to many others which
generally are reckoned of the eighth magnitude. Therefore I had no doubt of its being
any other than a fixed star. [...] The evening of the third, my suspicion was converted
into certainty, being assured it was not a fixed star. Nevertheless before I made it
known, I waited till the evening of the fourth, when I had the satisfaction to see it had
moved at the same rate as on the preceding days.[5]
Piazzi observed Ceres a total of 24 times, the final time on 11 February 1801, when
illness interrupted his work. He announced his discovery on 24 January 1801 in letters
to only two fellow astronomers, his compatriot Barnaba Oriani of Milan and Bode in
Berlin.[10] He reported it as a comet but "since its movement is so slow and rather
uniform, it has occurred to me several times that it might be something better than a
comet".[5] In April, Piazzi sent his complete observations to Oriani, Bode, and French
astronomer Jérôme Lalande. The information was published in the September 1801
issue of the Monatliche Correspondenz.[9]
By this time, the apparent position of Ceres had changed (mostly due to Earth's motion
around the Sun), and was too close to the Sun's glare for other astronomers to confirm
Piazzi's observations. Toward the end of the year, Ceres should have been visible
again, but after such a long time it was difficult to predict its exact position. To recover
Ceres, mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauss, then 24 years old, developed an efficient
method of orbit determination.[9] In a few weeks, he predicted the path of Ceres and
sent his results to von Zach. On 31 December 1801, von Zach and fellow celestial
policeman Heinrich W. M. Olbers found Ceres near the predicted position and thus
recovered it.[9] At 2.8 AU from the Sun, Ceres appeared to fit the Titius–Bode law
almost perfectly; however, Neptune, once discovered in 1846, was 8 AU closer than
predicted, leading most astronomers to conclude that the law was a
coincidence.[11] Piazzi named the newly discovered object Ceres Ferdinandea, "in
honor of the patron goddess of Sicily and of King Ferdinand of Bourbon".[7]
Further search[edit]
Sizes of the first ten discovered asteroids, compared to the Moon
Three other asteroids (2 Pallas, 3 Juno, and 4 Vesta) were discovered by von Zach's
group over the next few years, with Vesta found in 1807.[6] No new asteroids were
discovered until 1845. Amateur astronomer Karl Ludwig Hencke started his searches
of new asteroids in 1830, and fifteen years later, while looking for Vesta, he found the
asteroid later named 5 Astraea. It was the first new asteroid discovery in 38 years. Carl
Friedrich Gauss was given the honour of naming the asteroid. After this, other
astronomers joined; 15 asteroids were found by the end of 1851. In 1868, when James
Craig Watson discovered the 100th asteroid, the French Academy of
Sciences engraved the faces of Karl Theodor Robert Luther, John Russell Hind,
and Hermann Goldschmidt, the three most successful asteroid-hunters at that time,
on a commemorative medallion marking the event.[12]
In 1891, Max Wolf pioneered the use of astrophotography to detect asteroids, which
appeared as short streaks on long-exposure photographic plates.[12] This dramatically
increased the rate of detection compared with earlier visual methods: Wolf alone
discovered 248 asteroids, beginning with 323 Brucia,[13] whereas only slightly more
than 300 had been discovered up to that point. It was known that there were many
more, but most astronomers did not bother with them, some calling them "vermin of
the skies",[14] a phrase variously attributed to Eduard Suess[15] and Edmund
Weiss.[16] Even a century later, only a few thousand asteroids were identified,
numbered and named.
19th and 20th centuries[edit]

Cumulative discoveries of just the near-Earth asteroids known by size, 1980–2022

In the past, asteroids were discovered by a four-step process. First, a region of the
sky was photographed by a wide-field telescope, or astrograph. Pairs of photographs
were taken, typically one hour apart. Multiple pairs could be taken over a series of
days. Second, the two films or plates of the same region were viewed under
a stereoscope. A body in orbit around the Sun would move slightly between the pair
of films. Under the stereoscope, the image of the body would seem to float slightly
above the background of stars. Third, once a moving body was identified, its location
would be measured precisely using a digitizing microscope. The location would be
measured relative to known star locations.[17]
These first three steps do not constitute asteroid discovery: the observer has only
found an apparition, which gets a provisional designation, made up of the year of
discovery, a letter representing the half-month of discovery, and finally a letter and a
number indicating the discovery's sequential number (example: 1998 FJ74). The last
step is sending the locations and time of observations to the Minor Planet Center,
where computer programs determine whether an apparition ties together earlier
apparitions into a single orbit. If so, the object receives a catalogue number and the
observer of the first apparition with a calculated orbit is declared the discoverer, and
granted the honor of naming the object subject to the approval of the International
Astronomical Union.[18]

Naming[edit]
Main article: Minor planet § Naming

2013 EC, shown here in radar images, has a provisional designation

By 1851, the Royal Astronomical Society decided that asteroids were being
discovered at such a rapid rate that a different system was needed to categorize or
name asteroids. In 1852, when de Gasparis discovered the twentieth
asteroid, Benjamin Valz gave it a name and a number designating its rank among
asteroid discoveries, 20 Massalia. Sometimes asteroids were discovered and not
seen again. So, starting in 1892, new asteroids were listed by the year and a capital
letter indicating the order in which the asteroid's orbit was calculated and registered
within that specific year. For example, the first two asteroids discovered in 1892 were
labeled 1892A and 1892B. However, there were not enough letters in the alphabet for
all of the asteroids discovered in 1893, so 1893Z was followed by 1893AA. A number
of variations of these methods were tried, including designations that included year
plus a Greek letter in 1914. A simple chronological numbering system was established
in 1925.[12][19]
Currently all newly discovered asteroids receive a provisional designation (such
as 2002 AT4) consisting of the year of discovery and an alphanumeric code indicating
the half-month of discovery and the sequence within that half-month. Once an
asteroid's orbit has been confirmed, it is given a number, and later may also be given
a name (e.g. 433 Eros). The formal naming convention uses parentheses around the
number – e.g. (433) Eros – but dropping the parentheses is quite common. Informally,
it is also common to drop the number altogether, or to drop it after the first mention
when a name is repeated in running text.[20] In addition, names can be proposed by
the asteroid's discoverer, within guidelines established by the International
Astronomical Union.[21]
Symbols[edit]
Main article: Astronomical symbols
The first asteroids to be discovered were assigned iconic symbols like the ones
traditionally used to designate the planets. By 1855 there were two dozen asteroid
symbols, which often occurred in multiple variants.[22]
In 1851, after the fifteenth asteroid, Eunomia, had been discovered, Johann Franz
Encke made a major change in the upcoming 1854 edition of the Berliner
Astronomisches Jahrbuch (BAJ, Berlin Astronomical Yearbook). He introduced a disk
(circle), a traditional symbol for a star, as the generic symbol for an asteroid. The circle
was then numbered in order of discovery to indicate a specific asteroid. The
numbered-circle convention was quickly adopted by astronomers, and the next
asteroid to be discovered (16 Psyche, in 1852) was the first to be designated in that
way at the time of its discovery. However, Psyche was given an iconic symbol as well,
as were a few other asteroids discovered over the next few years. 20 Massalia was
the first asteroid that was not assigned an iconic symbol, and no iconic symbols were
created after the 1855 discovery of 37 Fides.[a][23]

Terminology[edit]

A composite image, to the same scale, of the asteroids imaged at high resolution prior
to 2012. They are, from largest to smallest: 4 Vesta, 21 Lutetia, 253 Mathilde, 243
Ida and its moon Dactyl, 433 Eros, 951 Gaspra, 2867 Šteins, 25143 Itokawa

Vesta (left), with Ceres (center) and the Moon (right) shown to scale.
The first discovered asteroid, Ceres, was originally considered a new planet.[b] It was
followed by the discovery of other similar bodies, which with the equipment of the time
appeared to be points of light like stars, showing little or no planetary disc, though
readily distinguishable from stars due to their apparent motions. This prompted the
astronomer Sir William Herschel to propose the term "asteroid",[c] coined in Greek
as ἀστεροειδής, or asteroeidēs, meaning 'star-like, star-shaped', and derived from
the Ancient Greek ἀστήρ astēr 'star, planet'. In the early second half of the 19th
century, the terms "asteroid" and "planet" (not always qualified as "minor") were still
used interchangeably.[d]
Traditionally, small bodies orbiting the Sun were classified as comets, asteroids,
or meteoroids, with anything smaller than one meter across being called a meteoroid.
The term "asteroid" never had a formal definition,[28] with the broader term "small Solar
System bodies" being preferred by the International Astronomical Union (IAU).[29] As
no IAU definition exists, asteroid can be defined as "an irregularly shaped rocky body
orbiting the Sun that does not qualify as a planet or a dwarf planet under the IAU
definitions of those terms".[30]
When found, asteroids were seen as a class of objects distinct from comets, and there
was no unified term for the two until "small Solar System body" was coined in 2006.
The main difference between an asteroid and a comet is that a comet shows a coma
due to sublimation of near-surface ices by solar radiation. A few objects have ended
up being dual-listed because they were first classified as minor planets but later
showed evidence of cometary activity. Conversely, some (perhaps all) comets are
eventually depleted of their surface volatile ices and become asteroid-like. A further
distinction is that comets typically have more eccentric orbits than most asteroids;
"asteroids" with notably eccentric orbits are probably dormant or extinct comets.[31]
For almost two centuries, from the discovery of Ceres in 1801 until the discovery of
the first centaur, 2060 Chiron in 1977, all known asteroids spent most of their time at
or within the orbit of Jupiter, though a few such as 944 Hidalgo ventured far beyond
Jupiter for part of their orbit. Those located between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter
were known for many years simply as The Asteroids.[32] When astronomers started
finding more small bodies that permanently resided further out than Jupiter, now
called centaurs, they numbered them among the traditional asteroids. There was
debate over whether these objects should be considered asteroids or given a new
classification. Then, when the first trans-Neptunian object (other than Pluto), 15760
Albion, was discovered in 1992, and especially when large numbers of similar objects
started turning up, new terms were invented to sidestep the issue: Kuiper-belt
object, trans-Neptunian object, scattered-disc object, and so on. They inhabit the cold
outer reaches of the Solar System where ices remain solid and comet-like bodies are
not expected to exhibit much cometary activity; if centaurs or trans-Neptunian objects
were to venture close to the Sun, their volatile ices would sublimate, and traditional
approaches would classify them as comets and not asteroids.
The innermost of these are the Kuiper-belt objects, called "objects" partly to avoid the
need to classify them as asteroids or comets.[33] They are thought to be predominantly
comet-like in composition, though some may be more akin to
asteroids.[34] Furthermore, most do not have the highly eccentric orbits associated with
comets, and the ones so far discovered are larger than traditional comet nuclei. (The
much more distant Oort cloud is hypothesized to be the main reservoir of dormant
comets.) Other recent observations, such as the analysis of the cometary dust
collected by the Stardust probe, are increasingly blurring the distinction between
comets and asteroids,[35] suggesting "a continuum between asteroids and comets"
rather than a sharp dividing line.[36]
The minor planets beyond Jupiter's orbit are sometimes also called "asteroids",
especially in popular presentations.[e] However, it is becoming increasingly common
for the term "asteroid" to be restricted to minor planets of the inner Solar
System.[33] Therefore, this article will restrict itself for the most part to the classical
asteroids: objects of the asteroid belt, Jupiter trojans, and near-Earth objects.
When the IAU introduced the class small Solar System bodies in 2006 to include most
objects previously classified as minor planets and comets, they created the class
of dwarf planets for the largest minor planets – those that have enough mass to have
become ellipsoidal under their own gravity. According to the IAU, "the term 'minor
planet' may still be used, but generally, the term 'Small Solar System Body' will be
preferred."[38] Currently only the largest object in the asteroid belt, Ceres, at about
975 km (606 mi) across, has been placed in the dwarf planet category.[39][40]

Formation[edit]
Main article: Origin of the asteroid belt

Artist's impression shows how an asteroid is torn apart by the strong gravity of a white
dwarf.[41]
Many asteroids are the shattered remnants of planetesimals, bodies within the young
Sun's solar nebula that never grew large enough to become planets.[42] It is thought
that planetesimals in the asteroid belt evolved much like the rest of objects in the solar
nebula until Jupiter neared its current mass, at which point excitation from orbital
resonances with Jupiter ejected over 99% of planetesimals in the belt. Simulations
and a discontinuity in spin rate and spectral properties suggest that asteroids larger
than approximately 120 km (75 mi) in diameter accreted during that early era,
whereas smaller bodies are fragments from collisions between asteroids during or
after the Jovian disruption.[43] Ceres and Vesta grew large enough to melt
and differentiate, with heavy metallic elements sinking to the core, leaving rocky
minerals in the crust.[44]
In the Nice model, many Kuiper-belt objects are captured in the outer asteroid belt, at
distances greater than 2.6 AU. Most were later ejected by Jupiter, but those that
remained may be the D-type asteroids, and possibly include Ceres.[45]

Distribution within the Solar System[edit]

See also: List of minor-planet groups, List of notable asteroids, and List of minor
planets
A top view of asteroid group location in the inner solar system.

A map of planets and asteroid groups of the inner solar system. Distances from sun
are to scale, object sizes are not.
Various dynamical groups of asteroids have been discovered orbiting in the inner Solar
System. Their orbits are perturbed by the gravity of other bodies in the Solar System
and by the Yarkovsky effect. Significant populations include:
Asteroid belt[edit]
Main article: Asteroid belt
The majority of known asteroids orbit within the asteroid belt between the orbits
of Mars and Jupiter, generally in relatively low-eccentricity (i.e. not very elongated)
orbits. This belt is estimated to contain between 1.1 and 1.9 million asteroids larger
than 1 km (0.6 mi) in diameter,[46] and millions of smaller ones. These asteroids may
be remnants of the protoplanetary disk, and in this region
the accretion of planetesimals into planets during the formative period of the Solar
System was prevented by large gravitational perturbations by Jupiter.
Contrary to popular imagery, the asteroid belt is mostly empty. The asteroids are
spread over such a large volume that reaching an asteroid without aiming carefully
would be improbable. Nonetheless, hundreds of thousands of asteroids are currently
known, and the total number ranges in the millions or more, depending on the lower
size cutoff. Over 200 asteroids are known to be larger than 100 km,[47] and a survey in
the infrared wavelengths has shown that the asteroid belt has between 700,000 and
1.7 million asteroids with a diameter of 1 km or more.[48] The absolute magnitudes of
most of the known asteroids are between 11 and 19, with the median at about 16.[49]
The total mass of the asteroid belt is estimated to be 2.39×1021 kg, which is just 3% of
the mass of the Moon; the mass of the Kuiper Belt and Scattered Disk is over 100
times as large.[50] The four largest objects, Ceres, Vesta, Pallas, and Hygiea, account
for maybe 62% of the belt's total mass, with 39% accounted for by Ceres alone.[51]
Trojans[edit]
Main article: Trojan (celestial body)
Trojans are populations that share an orbit with a larger planet or moon, but do not
collide with it because they orbit in one of the two Lagrangian points of stability, L4 and
L5, which lie 60° ahead of and behind the larger body.
In the Solar System, most known trojans share the orbit of Jupiter. They are divided
into the Greek camp at L4 (ahead of Jupiter) and the Trojan camp at L5 (trailing
Jupiter). More than a million Jupiter trojans larger than one kilometer are thought to
exist,[52] of which more than 7,000 are currently catalogued. In other planetary orbits
only nine Mars trojans, 28 Neptune trojans, two Uranus trojans, and two Earth trojans,
have been found to date. A temporary Venus trojan is also known. Numerical orbital
dynamics stability simulations indicate that Saturn and Uranus probably do not have
any primordial trojans.[53]
Near-Earth asteroids[edit]
Main article: Near-Earth asteroids
Near-Earth asteroids, or NEAs, are asteroids that have orbits that pass close to that
of Earth. Asteroids that actually cross Earth's orbital path are known as Earth-
crossers. As of April 2022, a total of 28,772 near-Earth asteroids were known; 878
have a diameter of one kilometer or larger.[54]
A small number of NEAs are extinct comets that have lost their volatile surface
materials, although having a faint or intermittent comet-like tail does not necessarily
result in a classification as a near-Earth comet, making the boundaries somewhat
fuzzy. The rest of the near-Earth asteroids are driven out of the asteroid belt by
gravitational interactions with Jupiter.[55][56]
Many asteroids have natural satellites (minor-planet moons). As of October 2021,
there were 85 NEAs known to have at least one moon, including three known to have
two moons.[57] The asteroid 3122 Florence, one of the largest potentially hazardous
asteroids with a diameter of 4.5 km (2.8 mi), has two moons measuring 100–300 m
(330–980 ft) across, which were discovered by radar imaging during the asteroid's
2017 approach to Earth.[58]
Near-Earth asteroids are divided into groups based on their semi-major
axis (a), perihelion distance (q), and aphelion distance (Q):[59][55]

 The Atiras or Apoheles have orbits strictly inside Earth's orbit: an Atira asteroid's
aphelion distance (Q) is smaller than Earth's perihelion distance (0.983 AU). That
is, Q < 0.983 AU, which implies that the asteroid's semi-major axis is also less than
0.983 AU.[60]

 The Atens have a semi-major axis of less than 1 AU and cross Earth's orbit.
Mathematically, a < 1.0 AU and Q > 0.983 AU. (0.983 AU is Earth's perihelion
distance.)
 The Apollos have a semi-major axis of more than 1 AU and cross Earth's orbit.
Mathematically, a > 1.0 AU and q < 1.017 AU. (1.017 AU is Earth's aphelion
distance.)
 The Amors have orbits strictly outside Earth's orbit: an Amor asteroid's perihelion
distance (q) is greater than Earth's aphelion distance (1.017 AU). Amor asteroids
are also near-earth objects so q < 1.3 AU. In summary, 1.017 AU < q < 1.3 AU.
(This implies that the asteroid's semi-major axis (a) is also larger than 1.017 AU.)
Some Amor asteroid orbits cross the orbit of Mars.
Martian moons[edit]
Main articles: Moons of Mars, Phobos (moon), and Deimos (moon)

Phobos
Deimos
It is unclear whether Martian moons Phobos and Deimos are captured asteroids or
were formed due to impact event on Mars.[61] Phobos and Deimos both have much in
common with carbonaceous C-type asteroids, with spectra, albedo, and density very
similar to those of C- or D-type asteroids.[62] Based on their similarity, one hypothesis
is that both moons may be captured main-belt asteroids.[63][64] Both moons have very
circular orbits which lie almost exactly in Mars's equatorial plane, and hence a capture
origin requires a mechanism for circularizing the initially highly eccentric orbit, and
adjusting its inclination into the equatorial plane, most probably by a combination of
atmospheric drag and tidal forces,[65] although it is not clear whether sufficient time
was available for this to occur for Deimos.[61] Capture also requires dissipation of
energy. The current Martian atmosphere is too thin to capture a Phobos-sized object
by atmospheric braking.[61] Geoffrey A. Landis has pointed out that the capture could
have occurred if the original body was a binary asteroid that separated under tidal
forces.[64][66]
Phobos could be a second-generation Solar System object that coalesced in orbit after
Mars formed, rather than forming concurrently out of the same birth cloud as Mars.[67]
Another hypothesis is that Mars was once surrounded by many Phobos- and Deimos-
sized bodies, perhaps ejected into orbit around it by a collision with a
large planetesimal.[68] The high porosity of the interior of Phobos (based on the density
of 1.88 g/cm3, voids are estimated to comprise 25 to 35 percent of Phobos's volume)
is inconsistent with an asteroidal origin.[69] Observations of Phobos in the thermal
infrared suggest a composition containing mainly phyllosilicates, which are well known
from the surface of Mars. The spectra are distinct from those of all classes
of chondrite meteorites, again pointing away from an asteroidal origin.[70] Both sets of
findings support an origin of Phobos from material ejected by an impact on Mars that
reaccreted in Martian orbit,[71] similar to the prevailing theory for the origin of Earth's
moon.

Characteristics[edit]
Size distribution[edit]

The asteroids of the Solar System, categorized by size and number

The masses of the largest asteroids in the main belt: 1 Ceres (blue), 4 Vesta, 2
Pallas, 10 Hygiea, 704 Interamnia, 15 Eunomia and the remainder of the Main Belt
(pink). The unit of mass is ×1018 kg.
Asteroids vary greatly in size, from almost 1000 km for the largest down to rocks just
1 meter across, below which an object is classified as a meteoroid.[f] The three largest
are very much like miniature planets: they are roughly spherical, have at least partly
differentiated interiors,[72] and are thought to be surviving protoplanets. The vast
majority, however, are much smaller and are irregularly shaped; they are thought to
be either battered planetesimals or fragments of larger bodies.
The dwarf planet Ceres is by far the largest asteroid, with a diameter of 940 km
(580 mi). The next largest are 4 Vesta and 2 Pallas, both with diameters of just over
500 km (300 mi). Vesta is the brightest of the four main-belt asteroids that can, on
occasion, be visible to the naked eye.[73] On some rare occasions, a near-Earth
asteroid may briefly become visible without technical aid; see 99942 Apophis.
The mass of all the objects of the asteroid belt, lying between the orbits
of Mars and Jupiter, is estimated to be (2394±6)×1018 kg, 3¼% of the mass of the
Moon. Of this, Ceres comprises 938×1018 kg, about 40% of the total. Adding in the
next three most massive objects, Vesta (11%), Pallas (8.5%), and Hygiea (3–4%),
brings this figure up to a bit over 60%, whereas the next seven most-massive asteroids
bring the total up to 70%.[50] The number of asteroids increases rapidly as their
individual masses decrease.
The number of asteroids decreases markedly with increasing size. Although the size
distribution generally follows a power law, there are 'bumps' at
about 5 km and 100 km, where more asteroids than expected from such a curve are
found.[74][75]
Largest asteroids[edit]
See also: Largest asteroids

42 of the largest objects in the asteroid belt captured by ESO's Very Large Telescope

Eros, Vesta and Ceres size comparison

Three largest objects in the asteroid belt, Ceres, Vesta, and Pallas, are
intact protoplanets that share many characteristics common to planets, and are
atypical compared to the majority of irregularly shaped asteroids. The fourth-largest
asteroid, Hygiea, appears nearly spherical although it may have an undifferentiated
interior,[76] like the majority of asteroids. The four largest asteroids constitute half the
mass of the asteroid belt.
Ceres is the only asteroid that appears to have a plastic shape under its own gravity
and hence the only one that is a dwarf planet.[77] It has a much higher absolute
magnitude than the other asteroids, of around 3.32,[78] and may possess a surface
layer of ice.[79] Like the planets, Ceres is differentiated: it has a crust, a mantle and a
core.[79] No meteorites from Ceres have been found on Earth.[80]
Vesta, too, has a differentiated interior, though it formed inside the Solar System's frost
line, and so is devoid of water;[81][82] its composition is mainly of basaltic rock with
minerals such as olivine.[83] Aside from the large crater at its southern pole, Rheasilvia,
Vesta also has an ellipsoidal shape. Vesta is the parent body of the Vestian family and
other V-type asteroids, and is the source of the HED meteorites, which constitute 5%
of all meteorites on Earth.
Pallas is unusual in that, like Uranus, it rotates on its side, with its axis of rotation tilted
at high angles to its orbital plane.[84] Its composition is similar to that of Ceres: high in
carbon and silicon, and perhaps partially differentiated.[85] Pallas is the parent body of
the Palladian family of asteroids.
Hygiea is the largest carbonaceous asteroid[86] and, unlike the other largest asteroids,
lies relatively close to the plane of the ecliptic. It is the largest member and presumed
parent body of the Hygiean family of asteroids. Because there is no sufficiently large
crater on the surface to be the source of that family, as there is on Vesta, it is thought
that Hygiea may have been completely disrupted in the collision that formed the
Hygiean family and recoalesced after losing a bit less than 2% of its mass.
Observations taken with the Very Large Telescope's SPHERE imager in 2017 and
2018, revealed that Hygiea has a nearly spherical shape, which is consistent both with
it being in hydrostatic equilibrium, or formerly being in hydrostatic equilibrium, or with
being disrupted and recoalescing.[87][88]
Internal differentiation of large asteroids is possibly related to their lack of natural
satellites, as satellites of main belt asteroids are mostly believed to form from
collisional disruption, creating a rubble pile structure.[80]

Attributes of largest asteroids

Orb Orb Ma
Inclin Diam Rota
ital ital ss Densi
ation Orbital Diamet eter Mass tion
Na radi peri (% ty
to eccent er (% (×1018 perio
me us od of (g/cm
eclipti ricity (km) of M kg) 3) d
(AU (yea Cer
c oon) (hr)
) rs) es)

Cer 964×96 100 2.16±

2.77 4.60 10.6° 0.079 27% 938 9.07
es 4×892 % 0.01
 (mean
939.4)

573×55
Ves 7×446 28 3.46 ±
2.36 3.63 7.1° 0.089 15% 259 5.34
ta (mean % 0.04
525.4)

550×51
Pall 6×476 21 2.92±
2.77 4.62 34.8° 0.231 15% 204±3 7.81
as (mean % 0.08
511±4)

450×43
Hyg 0×424 2.06±
3.14 5.56 3.8° 0.117 12% 87±7 9% 13.8
iea (mean 0.20
433±8)

Rotation[edit]
Further information: List of fast rotators (minor planets) and List of slow rotators (minor
planets)
Measurements of the rotation rates of large asteroids in the asteroid belt show that
there is an upper limit. Very few asteroids with a diameter larger than 100 meters have
a rotation period less than 2.2 hours.[89] For asteroids rotating faster than
approximately this rate, the inertial force at the surface is greater than the gravitational
force, so any loose surface material would be flung out. However, a solid object should
be able to rotate much more rapidly. This suggests that most asteroids with a diameter
over 100 meters are rubble piles formed through the accumulation of debris after
collisions between asteroids.[90]
Color[edit]
Asteroids become darker and redder with age due to space weathering.[91] However
evidence suggests most of the color change occurs rapidly, in the first hundred
thousand years, limiting the usefulness of spectral measurement for determining the
age of asteroids.[92]
Surface features[edit]

Cratered terrain on 4 Vesta

Except for the "big four" (Ceres, Pallas, Vesta, and Hygiea), asteroids are likely to be
broadly similar in appearance, if irregular in shape. 50 km (31 mi) 253 Mathilde is a
rubble pile saturated with craters with diameters the size of the asteroid's radius. Earth-
based observations of 300 km (186 mi) 511 Davida, one of the largest asteroids after
the big four, reveal a similarly angular profile, suggesting it is also saturated with
radius-size craters.[93] Medium-sized asteroids such as Mathilde and 243 Ida, that
have been observed up close, also reveal a deep regolith covering the surface. Of the
big four, Pallas and Hygiea are practically unknown. Vesta has compression fractures
encircling a radius-size crater at its south pole but is otherwise a spheroid.
Dawn spacecraft revealed that Ceres has a heavily cratered surface, but with fewer
large craters than expected.[94] Models based on the formation of the current asteroid
belt had suggested Ceres should possess 10 to 15 craters larger than 400 km (250 mi)
in diameter.[94] The largest confirmed crater on Ceres, Kerwan Basin, is 284 km
(176 mi) across.[95] The most likely reason for this is viscous relaxation of the crust
slowly flattening out larger impacts.[94]
Composition[edit]
Asteroids are classified by their characteristic emission spectra, with the majority
falling into three main groups: C-type, M-type, and S-type. These were named after
and are generally identified with carbonaceous (carbon-rich), metallic,
and silicaceous (stony) compositions, respectively. The physical composition of
asteroids is varied and in most cases poorly understood. Ceres appears to be
composed of a rocky core covered by an icy mantle, where Vesta is thought to have
a nickel-iron core, olivine mantle, and basaltic crust.[96] Thought to be the largest
undifferentiated asteroid, 10 Hygiea seems to have a uniformly primitive composition
of carbonaceous chondrite, but it may actually be a differentiated asteroid that was
globally disrupted by an impact and then reassembled. Other asteroids appear to be
the remnant cores or mantles of proto-planets, high in rock and metal. Most small
asteroids are believed to be piles of rubble held together loosely by gravity, although
the largest are probably solid. Some asteroids have moons or are co-orbiting binaries:
rubble piles, moons, binaries, and scattered asteroid families are thought to be the
results of collisions that disrupted a parent asteroid, or possibly a planet.[97]
In the main asteroid belt, there appear to be two primary populations of asteroid: a
dark, volatile-rich population, consisting of the C-type and P-type asteroids, with
albedos less that 0.10 and densities under 2.2 g/cm3, and a dense, volatile-poor
population, consisting of the S-type and M-type asteroids, with albedos over 0.15 and
densities greater than 2.7. Within these populations, larger asteroids are denser,
presumably due to compression. There appears to be minimal macro-porosity
(interstitial vacuum) in the score of asteroids with masses greater than 10×1018 kg.[98]
Composition is calculated from three primary sources: albedo, surface spectrum, and
density. The last can only be determined accurately by observing the orbits of moons
the asteroid might have. So far, every asteroid with moons has turned out to be a
rubble pile, a loose conglomeration of rock and metal that may be half empty space
by volume. The investigated asteroids are as large as 280 km in diameter, and
include 121 Hermione (268×186×183 km), and 87 Sylvia (384×262×232 km). Few
asteroids are larger than 87 Sylvia, none of them have moons. The fact that such large
asteroids as Sylvia may be rubble piles, presumably due to disruptive impacts, has
important consequences for the formation of the Solar System: computer simulations
of collisions involving solid bodies show them destroying each other as often as
merging, but colliding rubble piles are more likely to merge. This means that the cores
of the planets could have formed relatively quickly.[99]
Water[edit]
Main article: Asteroidal water
Scientists hypothesize that some of the first water brought to Earth was delivered by
asteroid impacts after the collision that produced the Moon.[100] In 2009, the presence
of water ice was confirmed on the surface of 24 Themis using NASA's Infrared
Telescope Facility. The surface of the asteroid appears completely covered in ice. As
this ice layer is sublimating, it may be getting replenished by a reservoir of ice under
the surface. Organic compounds were also detected on the surface.[101][102][100][103] The
presence of ice on 24 Themis makes the initial theory plausible.[100]
In October 2013, water was detected on an extrasolar body for the first time, on an
asteroid orbiting the white dwarf GD 61.[104] On 22 January 2014, European Space
Agency (ESA) scientists reported the detection, for the first definitive time, of water
vapor on Ceres, the largest object in the asteroid belt.[105] The detection was made by
using the far-infrared abilities of the Herschel Space Observatory.[106] The finding is
unexpected because comets, not asteroids, are typically considered to "sprout jets
and plumes". According to one of the scientists, "The lines are becoming more and
more blurred between comets and asteroids."[106]
Findings have shown that solar winds can react with the oxygen in the upper layer of
the asteroids and create water. It has been estimated that "every cubic metre of
irradiated rock could contain up to 20 litres"; study was conducted using an atom probe
tomography, numbers are given for the Itokawa S-type asteroid.[107][108]
Acfer 049, a meteorite discovered in Algeria in 1990, was shown in 2019 to have a
ultraporous lithology (UPL): porous texture that could be formed by removal of ice that
filled these pores, this suggests that UPL "represent fossils of primordial ice".[109]
Organic compounds[edit]
Asteroids contain traces of amino acids and other organic compounds, and some
speculate that asteroid impacts may have seeded the early Earth with the chemicals
necessary to initiate life, or may have even brought life itself to Earth (an event called
"panspermia").[110][111] In August 2011, a report, based on NASA studies
with meteorites found on Earth, was published
suggesting DNA and RNA components (adenine, guanine and related organic
molecules) may have been formed on asteroids and comets in outer space.[112][113][114]
In November 2019, scientists reported detecting, for the first time, sugar molecules,
including ribose, in meteorites, suggesting that chemical processes on asteroids can
produce some fundamentally essential bio-ingredients important to life, and
supporting the notion of an RNA world prior to a DNA-based origin of life on Earth, and
possibly, as well, the notion of panspermia.[115][116][117]

Classification[edit]
Asteroids are commonly categorized according to two criteria: the characteristics of
their orbits, and features of their reflectance spectrum.
Orbital classification[edit]
Main articles: Asteroid group and Asteroid family
A complex horseshoe orbit (the vertical looping is due to inclination of the smaller
body's orbit to that of the Earth, and would be absent if both orbited in the same
plane) Sun · Earth · (419624) 2010 SO16
Many asteroids have been placed in groups and families based on their orbital
characteristics. Apart from the broadest divisions, it is customary to name a group of
asteroids after the first member of that group to be discovered. Groups are relatively
loose dynamical associations, whereas families are tighter and result from the
catastrophic break-up of a large parent asteroid sometime in the past.[118] Families are
more common and easier to identify within the main asteroid belt, but several small
families have been reported among the Jupiter trojans.[119] Main belt families were first
recognized by Kiyotsugu Hirayama in 1918 and are often called Hirayama families in
his honor.
About 30–35% of the bodies in the asteroid belt belong to dynamical families, each
thought to have a common origin in a past collision between asteroids. A family has
also been associated with the plutoid dwarf planet Haumea.
Some asteroids have unusual horseshoe orbits that are co-orbital with Earth or
another planet. Examples are 3753 Cruithne and 2002 AA29. The first instance of this
type of orbital arrangement was discovered between Saturn's
moons Epimetheus and Janus. Sometimes these horseshoe objects temporarily
become quasi-satellites for a few decades or a few hundred years, before returning to
their earlier status. Both Earth and Venus are known to have quasi-satellites.
Such objects, if associated with Earth or Venus or even hypothetically Mercury, are a
special class of Aten asteroids. However, such objects could be associated with the
outer planets as well.
Spectral classification[edit]
Main article: Asteroid spectral types
In 1975, an asteroid taxonomic system based on color, albedo, and spectral
shape was developed by Chapman, Morrison, and Zellner.[120] These properties are
thought to correspond to the composition of the asteroid's surface material. The
original classification system had three categories: C-types for dark carbonaceous
objects (75% of known asteroids), S-types for stony (silicaceous) objects (17% of
known asteroids) and U for those that did not fit into either C or S. This classification
has since been expanded to include many other asteroid types. The number of types
continues to grow as more asteroids are studied.
The two most widely used taxonomies now used are the Tholen
classification and SMASS classification. The former was proposed in 1984 by David
J. Tholen, and was based on data collected from an eight-color asteroid survey
performed in the 1980s. This resulted in 14 asteroid categories.[121] In 2002, the Small
Main-Belt Asteroid Spectroscopic Survey resulted in a modified version of the Tholen
taxonomy with 24 different types. Both systems have three broad categories of C, S,
and X asteroids, where X consists of mostly metallic asteroids, such as the M-type.
There are also several smaller classes.[122]
The proportion of known asteroids falling into the various spectral types does not
necessarily reflect the proportion of all asteroids that are of that type; some types are
easier to detect than others, biasing the totals.
Problems[edit]
Originally, spectral designations were based on inferences of an asteroid's
composition.[123] However, the correspondence between spectral class and
composition is not always very good, and a variety of classifications are in use. This
has led to significant confusion. Although asteroids of different spectral classifications
are likely to be composed of different materials, there are no assurances that asteroids
within the same taxonomic class are composed of the same (or similar) materials.
Active asteroids[edit]
Main article: Active asteroid

Asteroid (101955) Bennu seen ejecting particles by the OSIRIS-REx

Active asteroids are objects that have asteroid-like orbits but show comet-like visual
characteristics. That is, they show comae, tails, or other visual evidence of mass-loss
(like a comet), but their orbit remains within Jupiter's orbit (like an
asteroid).[124][125] These bodies were originally designated main-belt comets (MBCs)
in 2006 by astronomers David Jewitt and Henry Hsieh, but this name implies they are
necessarily icy in composition like a comet and that they only exist within the main-
belt, whereas the growing population of active asteroids shows that this is not always
the case.[124][126][127]
The first active asteroid discovered is 7968 Elst–Pizarro. It was discovered (as an
asteroid) in 1979 but then was found to have a tail by Eric Elst and Guido Pizarro in
1996 and given the cometary designation 133P/Elst-Pizarro.[124][128] Another notable
object is 311P/PanSTARRS: observations made by the Hubble Space
Telescope revealed that it had six comet-like tails.[129] The tails are suspected to be
streams of material ejected by the asteroid as a result of a rubble pile asteroid spinning
fast enough to remove material from it.[130]

Exploration[edit]
Until the age of space travel, objects in the asteroid belt could only be observed with
large telescopes, their shapes and terrain remaining a mystery. The best modern
ground-based telescopes and the Earth-orbiting Hubble Space Telescope can only
resolve a small amount of detail on the surfaces of the largest asteroids. Limited
information about the shapes and compositions of asteroids can be inferred from
their light curves (variation in brightness during rotation) and their spectral properties.
Sizes can be estimated by timing the lengths of star occultations (when an asteroid
passes directly in front of a star). Radar imaging can yield good information about
asteroid shapes and orbital and rotational parameters, especially for near-Earth
asteroids. Spacecraft flybys can provide much more data than any ground or space-
based observations; sample-return missions gives insights about regolith composition.
Ground-based observations[edit]

The 70m antenna at Goldstone Observatory

Radar observations of near-Earth asteroid (505657) 2014 SR339 as seen by Arecibo

As asteroids are rather small and faint objects, the data that can be obtained from
ground-based observations (GBO) are limited. By means of ground-based optical
telescopes the visual magnitude can be obtained; when converted into the absolute
magnitude it gives a rough estimate of the asteroid's size. Light-curve measurements
can also be made by GBO; when collected over a long period of time it allows an
estimate of the rotational period, the pole orientation (sometimes), and a rough
estimate of the asteroid's shape. Spectral data (both visible-light and near-infrared
spectroscopy) gives information about the object's composition, used to classify the
observed asteroids. Such observations are limited as they provide information about
only the thin layer on the surface (up to several micrometers).[131] As
planetologist Patrick Michel writes:
Mid- to thermal-infrared observations, along with polarimetry measurements, are
probably the only data that give some indication of actual physical properties.
Measuring the heat flux of an asteroid at a single wavelength gives an estimate of the
dimensions of the object; these measurements have lower uncertainty than
measurements of the reflected sunlight in the visible-light spectral region. If the two
measurements can be combined, both the effective diameter and the geometric
albedo—the latter being a measure of the brightness at zero phase angle, that is, when
illumination comes from directly behind the observer—can be derived. In addition,
thermal measurements at two or more wavelengths, plus the brightness in the visible-
light region, give information on the thermal properties. The thermal inertia, which is a
measure of how fast a material heats up or cools off, of most observed asteroids is
lower than the bare-rock reference value but greater than that of the lunar regolith; this
observation indicates the presence of an insulating layer of granular material on their
surface. Moreover, there seems to be a trend, perhaps related to the gravitational
environment, that smaller objects (with lower gravity) have a small regolith layer
consisting of coarse grains, while larger objects have a thicker regolith layer consisting
of fine grains. However, the detailed properties of this regolith layer are poorly known
from remote observations. Moreover, the relation between thermal inertia and surface
roughness is not straightforward, so one needs to interpret the thermal inertia with
caution.[131]
Near-Earth asteroids that come into close vicinity of the planet can be studied in more
details with radar; it provides information about the surface of the asteroid (for example
can show the presence of craters and boulders). Such observations were conducted
by the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico (305 meter dish) and Goldstone
Observatory in California (70 meter dish). Radar observations can also be used for
accurate determination of the orbital and rotational dynamics of observed objects.[131]
Space-based observations[edit]

WISE infrared space telescope

Asteroid 6481 Tenzing, center, is seen moving against a background of stars in this
series of images taken by the James Webb Space Telescope's instrument NIRCam
Both space and ground-based observatories conducted asteroid search programs; the
space-based searches are expected to detect more objects because there is no
atmosphere to interfere and because they can observe larger portions of the
sky. NEOWISE observed more than 100,000 asteroids of the main belt, Spitzer Space
Telescope observed more than 700 near-Earth asteroids. These observations
determined rough sizes of the majority of observed objects, but provided limited detail
about surface properties (such as regolith depth and composition, angle of repose,
cohesion, and porosity).[131]
Asteroids were also studied by the Hubble Space Telescope, such as tracking the
colliding asteroids in the main belt,[132][133] break-up of an asteroid,[134] observing
an active asteroid with six comet-like tails,[135] and observing asteroids that were
chosen as targets of dedicated missions.[136][137]
Space probe missions[edit]
See also: List of minor planets and comets visited by spacecraft and List of missions
to minor planets
According to Patrick Michel,
The internal structure of asteroids is inferred only from indirect evidence: bulk densities
measured by spacecraft, the orbits of natural satellites in the case of asteroid binaries,
and the drift of an asteroid's orbit due to the Yarkovsky thermal effect. A spacecraft
near an asteroid is perturbed enough by the asteroid's gravity to allow an estimate of
the asteroid's mass. The volume is then estimated using a model of the asteroid's
shape. Mass and volume allow the derivation of the bulk density, whose uncertainty is
usually dominated by the errors made on the volume estimate. The internal porosity
of asteroids can be inferred by comparing their bulk density with that of their assumed
meteorite analogues, dark asteroids seem to be more porous (>40%) than bright ones.
The nature of this porosity is unclear.[131]
Dedicated missions[edit]
The first asteroid to be photographed in close-up was 951 Gaspra in 1991, followed in
1993 by 243 Ida and its moon Dactyl, all of which were imaged by the Galileo probe en
route to Jupiter. Other asteroids briefly visited by spacecraft en route to other
destinations include 9969 Braille (by Deep Space 1 in 1999), 5535
Annefrank (by Stardust in 2002), 2867 Šteins and 21 Lutetia (by the Rosetta probe in
2008), and 4179 Toutatis (China's lunar orbiter Chang'e 2, which flew within 3.2 km
(2 mi) in 2012).
The first dedicated asteroid probe was NASA's NEAR Shoemaker, which
photographed 253 Mathilde in 1997, before entering into orbit around 433 Eros, finally
landing on its surface in 2001. It was the first spacecraft to successfully orbit and land
on an asteroid.[138] From September to November 2005, the
Japanese Hayabusa probe studied 25143 Itokawa in detail and returned samples of
its surface to Earth on 13 June 2010, the first asteroid sample-return mission. In
2007, NASA launched the Dawn spacecraft, which orbited 4 Vesta for a year, and
observed the dwarf planet Ceres for three years.
Hayabusa2, a probe launched by JAXA 2014, orbited its target asteroid 162173
Ryugu for more than a year and took samples that were delivered to Earth in 2020.
The spacecraft is now on an extended mission and expected to arrive at a new target
in 2031.
NASA launched the OSIRIS-REx in 2016, a sample return mission to asteroid 101955
Bennu. In 2021, the probe departed the asteroid with a sample from its surface.
Sample delivery to Earth is expected on September 24, 2023.[139] The spacecraft will
continue on an extended mission, designated OSIRIS-APEX, to explore near-Earth
asteroid Apophis in 2029.

 Asteroid-dedicated space probes



Hayabusa2

Dawn

Lucy


 Psyche
Planned missions[edit]

Asteroids and comets visited by spacecraft as of 2019 (except Ceres and Vesta), to
scale
Currently, several asteroid-dedicated missions are planned by NASA, JAXA, ESA, and
CNSA.
NASA's Lucy, launched in 2021, would visit eight asteroids, one from the main
belt and seven Jupiter trojans; it is the first mission to trojans. The main mission would
start in 2027.[140][141]
In November 2021, NASA launched its Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART), a
mission to test technology for defending Earth against potential hazardous objects.
DART will deliberately crash into the minor-planet moon Dimorphos of the double
asteroid Didymos in September 2022 to assess the future potential of a spacecraft
impact to deflect an asteroid from a collision course with Earth through a transference
of momentum.[142] ESA's Hera, planned for launch in 2024, will study the results of the
DART impact. It will measure the size and morphology of the crater, and momentum
transmitted by the impact, to determine the efficiency of the deflection produced by
DART.
NASA's Psyche would be launched in 2023 or 2024 to study the large metallic
asteroid of the same name. Janus is a planned dual space probe to be launched as a
secondary payload on the Psyche launch.
JAXA's DESTINY+ is a mission for a flyby of the Geminids meteor shower parent
body 3200 Phaethon, as well as various minor bodies. Its launch is planned for
2024.[143]
CNSA's Tianwen-2 is planned to launch in 2025.[144] It will use solar electric
propulsion to explore the co-orbital near-Earth asteroid 469219 Kamoʻoalewa and
the active asteroid 311P/PanSTARRS. The spacecraft will collect samples of the
regolith of Kamo'oalewa.[145]

Asteroid mining[edit]
Artist's concept of a crewed mission to an asteroid
Main articles: Asteroid mining and Colonization of the asteroids
The concept of asteroid mining was proposed in 1970s. Matt Anderson defines
successful asteroid mining as "the development of a mining program that is both
financially self-sustaining and profitable to its investors".[146] It has been suggested that
asteroids might be used as a source of materials that may be rare or exhausted on
Earth,[147] or materials for constructing space habitats. Materials that are heavy and
expensive to launch from Earth may someday be mined from asteroids and used
for space manufacturing and construction.[148][149]
As resource depletion on Earth becomes more real, the idea of extracting valuable
elements from asteroids and returning these to Earth for profit, or using space-based
resources to build solar-power satellites and space habitats,[150][151] becomes more
attractive. Hypothetically, water processed from ice could refuel orbiting propellant
depots.[152][153]
From the astrobiological perspective, asteroid prospecting could provide scientific
data for the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI). Some astrophysicists have
suggested that if advanced extraterrestrial civilizations employed asteroid mining long
ago, the hallmarks of these activities might be detectable.[154][155][156]
Mining Ceres is also considered a possibility. As the largest body in the asteroid belt,
Ceres could become the main base and transport hub for future asteroid mining
infrastructure,[157] allowing mineral resources to be transported to Mars, the Moon, and
Earth. Because of its small escape velocity combined with large amounts of water ice,
it also could serve as a source of water, fuel, and oxygen for ships going through and
beyond the asteroid belt.[157] Transportation from Mars or the Moon to Ceres would be
even more energy-efficient than transportation from Earth to the Moon.[158]