The MIT-Hawaii Near-Earth Object Spectroscopic Survey (MITHNEOS): Current Status and Future Plans
Abstract
Near-Earth objects (NEOs) represent an ongoing flux of small bodies from elsewhere in the Solar System to near-Earth space. The study of these objects teaches us about the original environment of the Solar System during formation and the conditions as physical and chemical changes occur throughout Solar System history. The MIT-Hawaii Near-Earth Object Spectroscopic Survey (MITHNEOS) began in 2004 and has obtained ~1,200 spectral observations of nearly 1,000 objects. The current phase of the project has three key goals: (1) to improve our understanding of the compositional distribution of NEO spectra with respect to asteroid size via additional IRTF SpeX prism spectra, (2) to examine the distribution of volatiles in the NEO population through an analysis of SpeX LXD 3-micron spectra, and (3) to transition the program from MIT and update our infrastructure (including the website). Our presentation will discuss the current status of MITHNEOS including our progress in the new 3-micron effort and the website transition. We will also discuss our upcoming work in these areas.
- Publication:
-
AAS/Division for Planetary Sciences Meeting Abstracts #55
- Pub Date:
- October 2023
- Bibcode:
- 2023DPS....5540408T