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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
2002 AT4 is a near-Earth object and potentially hazardous asteroid of the Amor group, approximately 350 meters (1,100 feet) in diameter. It has an eccentric orbit that brings it sometimes close to Earth's orbit, and sometimes halfway between Mars and Jupiter. It is a dark D-type asteroid[3] which means that it may be reddish in color.
Discovery[1] | |
---|---|
Discovered by | LINEAR |
Discovery site | Lincoln Lab's ETS |
Discovery date | 8 January 2002 (first observed only) |
Designations | |
2002 AT4 | |
NEO · Amor · PHA[1][2] | |
Orbital characteristics[2] | |
Epoch 27 April 2019 (JD 2458600.5) | |
Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
Observation arc | 4.94 yr (1,805 d) |
Aphelion | 2.7000 AU |
Perihelion | 1.0339 AU |
1.8670 AU | |
Eccentricity | 0.4462 |
2.55 yr (932 d) | |
260.39° | |
0° 23m 11.04s / day | |
Inclination | 1.4997° |
323.48° | |
203.06° | |
Earth MOID | 0.043 AU (16.8 LD) |
Physical characteristics | |
350 m (est. at 0.047) | |
SMASS = D[2] | |
21.2[2] | |
Due to its relatively low transfer cost of ~5.5 km/s,[4] 2002 AT4 was under consideration by the European Space Agency as a candidate target for the Don Quijote mission to study the effects of impacting a spacecraft into an asteroid; however, it is no longer under consideration.[5]
2002 AT4 orbits the Sun at a distance of 1.0–2.7 AU once every 2 years and 7 months (932 days; semi-major axis of 1.87 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.45 and an inclination of 1° with respect to the ecliptic.[2]
T. M. Ribeiro et al. proposed a conceptual sample return mission named CARINA to 2002 AT4 [[6]]. The goal of CARINA would be to return for the first time a sample from a D-type asteroid for an in-depth characterisation in Earth-based laboratories. Among other things, CARINA aims to: (i) explore the relationship between dark asteroids and comets; (ii) investigate the role of dark asteroids in the origin of life; (iii) improve our understanding of early Solar System evolution.
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