NEOROCKS project: surface properties of small near-Earth asteroids

TL;DR

The NEOROCKS project conducted photometric observations of 42 near-Earth objects, classifying their surface types, estimating their sizes, and identifying potential spacecraft targets to enhance planetary defense strategies.

Contribution

This study provides new surface color data and classifications for 42 NEOs, expanding the dataset to 93 objects, and identifies promising targets for space missions.

Findings

Majority of small NEOs are silicate bodies, possibly due to observational bias.

Identified 14 objects with potential for spacecraft accessibility.

Highlighted D-type and A-type asteroids as promising mission targets.

Abstract

We present new results of the observing program which is a part of the NEOROCKS project aimed to improve knowledge on physical properties of near-Earth Objects (NEOs) for planetary defense. Photometric observations were performed using the 1.2m telescope at the Haute-Provence observatory (France) in the BVRI filters of the Johnson-Cousins photometric systems between June 2021 and April 2022. We obtained new surface colors for 42 NEOs. Based on the measured colors we classified 20 objects as S-complex, 9 as C-complex, 9 as X-complex, 2 as D-type, one object as V-type, and one object remained unclassified. For all the observed objects we estimated their absolute magnitudes and diameters. Combining these new observations with the previously acquired data within the NEOROCKS project extended our dataset to 93 objects. The majority of objects in the dataset with diameters D<500m belongs to a group of silicate bodies, which could be related to observational bias. Based on MOID and $\Delta$V values we selected 14 objects that could be accessible by a spacecraft. Notably, we find D-type asteroid (163014) 2001 UA5 and A-type asteroid 2017 SE19 to be of particular interest as possible space mission targets.