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W. F. Huebner (SwRI), E. Asphaug (UCSC), M. J. S. Belton (Belton Space Exploration Initiatives), J. M. Greenberg (U. Leiden, The Netherlands), S. Gulkis, D. Yeomans (JPL)
Knowledge of geological and geophysical properties of near-Earth objects (NEOs) is a prerequisite for developing technology for defense against these objects. This same knowledge is also related to the formation and evolution of asteroids and comets and the formation of the planetary system. For these reasons, a Roadmap has been established to investigate NEO properties. It calls for (1) establishing an NEO database, (2) conducting experiments and theoretical investigations simulating properties of NEOs, (3) supporting missions to small solar system bodies (asteroids and comets), especially those capable of deriving bulk compositional and mechanical characteristics, and (4) enhancing physical characterization (surface properties) by simultaneous visual and infrared remote sensing. Establishing an NEO database for geological and geophysical properties is a high priority.
We present the Roadmap for data acquisition and discuss the database. As outlined in the Roadmap, the database will serve as a vector to provide direction and magnitude of efforts needed to accomplish the goals of gathering geological and geophysical data of NEOs. It will also serve as a metric to measure the success of scientific research and technology developments to divert NEOs from colliding with Earth.
This research was funded in part by NASA Grant NAG57165.
The author(s) of this abstract have provided an email address for comments about the abstract: whuebner@swri.edu