Alternate Science Investigations for the Kepler Spacecraft: Precision Rotation Periods and Shapes of Near-Earth Asteroids

TL;DR

This paper proposes using the Kepler spacecraft to significantly enhance the measurement of rotation periods and shapes of near-Earth asteroids, improving data quality and quantity for scientific and practical applications.

Contribution

It introduces a novel approach to repurposing Kepler for detailed NEA studies, promising a large increase in data and precision over ground-based observations.

Findings

Kepler can increase well-measured NEA rotation periods to over 1000 in 5 years

Order-of-magnitude improvement in measurement precision over ground-based data

Potential to produce 3-D tomographic maps for ~250 bright NEAs

Abstract

We propose to use a modest fraction of the re-purposed Kepler mission time and apertures to greatly increase the quantity and quality of our knowledge of near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) rotation and shape. NEAs are important for understanding the origins of the Solar System, for selecting targets for robotic and human visits, and for hazardous object deflection. While NEAs are being discovered at a rate of 1000/year, only a ~75/year have well-measured rotation periods and shapes. Not only can the Kepler mission greatly increase the numbers of well-determined NEA rotation periods (to >1000 in 5 years), but may do so with order-of-magnitude greater precision than is routinely achieved from the ground. This will enable 3-D tomographic maps to be produced for the ~250 of the brighter NEAs. A multi-year science program would enable improved data quality checks, larger samples and additional types of science. All these numbers are preliminary. We list a number of issues to be resolved before this program can be properly assessed.