The search for chiral asymmetry as a potential biosignature in our solar system

DP Glavin, AS Burton, JE Elsila, JC Aponte… - Chemical …, 2019 - ACS Publications
The search for evidence of extraterrestrial life in our Solar System is currently guided by our
understanding of terrestrial biology and its associated biosignatures. The observed …

Successful kinetic impact into an asteroid for planetary defence

RT Daly, CM Ernst, OS Barnouin, NL Chabot, AS Rivkin… - Nature, 2023 - nature.com
Although no known asteroid poses a threat to Earth for at least the next century, the
catalogue of near-Earth asteroids is incomplete for objects whose impacts would produce …

The ESA Hera mission: detailed characterization of the DART impact outcome and of the binary asteroid (65803) Didymos

P Michel, M Küppers, AC Bagatin, B Carry… - The planetary …, 2022 - iopscience.iop.org
Hera is a planetary defense mission under development in the Space Safety and Security
Program of the European Space Agency for launch in 2024 October. It will rendezvous in …

The importance of Phobos sample return for understanding the Mars-moon system

T Usui, K Bajo, W Fujiya, Y Furukawa, M Koike… - Space Science …, 2020 - Springer
Phobos and Deimos occupy unique positions both scientifically and programmatically on the
road to the exploration of the solar system. Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) …

Pebbles and sand on asteroid (162173) Ryugu: In situ observation and particles returned to Earth

S Tachibana, H Sawada, R Okazaki, Y Takano… - Science, 2022 - science.org
The Hayabusa2 spacecraft investigated the C-type (carbonaceous) asteroid (162173)
Ryugu. The mission performed two landing operations to collect samples of surface and …

Spacecraft sample collection and subsurface excavation of asteroid (101955) Bennu

DS Lauretta, CD Adam, AJ Allen, RL Ballouz… - Science, 2022 - science.org
Carbonaceous asteroids, such as (101955) Bennu, preserve material from the early Solar
System, including volatile compounds and organic molecules. We report spacecraft imaging …

Mechanical properties of rubble pile asteroids (Dimorphos, Itokawa, Ryugu, and Bennu) through surface boulder morphological analysis

CQ Robin, A Duchene, N Murdoch, JB Vincent… - Nature …, 2024 - nature.com
Planetary defense efforts rely on estimates of the mechanical properties of asteroids, which
are difficult to constrain accurately from Earth. The mechanical properties of asteroid …

Evidence for widespread hydrated minerals on asteroid (101955) Bennu

VE Hamilton, AA Simon, PR Christensen, DC Reuter… - Nature …, 2019 - nature.com
Early spectral data from the Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and
Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) mission reveal evidence for abundant hydrated …

Properties of rubble-pile asteroid (101955) Bennu from OSIRIS-REx imaging and thermal analysis

DN DellaGiustina, JP Emery, DR Golish, B Rozitis… - Nature …, 2019 - nature.com
Establishing the abundance and physical properties of regolith and boulders on asteroids is
crucial for understanding the formation and degradation mechanisms at work on their …

Fast boulder fracturing by thermal fatigue detected on stony asteroids

A Lucchetti, S Cambioni, R Nakano… - Nature …, 2024 - nature.com
Spacecraft observations revealed that rocks on carbonaceous asteroids, which constitute
the most numerous class by composition, can develop millimeter-to-meter-scale fractures …