Mechanical properties of rubble pile asteroids (Dimorphos, Itokawa, Ryugu, and Bennu) through surface boulder morphological analysis.

ABSTRACT: Planetary defense efforts rely on estimates of the mechanical properties of asteroids, which are difficult to constrain accurately from Earth. The mechanical properties of asteroid material are also important in the interpretation of the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) impact. Here we perform a detailed morphological analysis of the surface boulders on Dimorphos using images, the primary data set available from the DART mission. We estimate the bulk angle of internal friction of the boulders to be 32.7 ± 2. 5° from our measurements of the roundness of the 34 best-resolved boulders ranging in size from 1.67-6.64 m. The elongated nature of the boulders around the DART impact site implies that they were likely formed through impact processing. Finally, we find striking similarities in

SUBMITTER: Robin CQ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11289397 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature