Tatsuaki Okada

<p>Thermal imaging, or thermography, has revealed the surface physical state of the C-type near-Earth asteroid 162173 Ryugu (Okada et al., 2020). The asteroid is the target body of JAXA Hayabsua2 asteroid sample return mission, and it has been characterized through remote sensing and surface experiments, and will be deeply and accurately investigated by analysis of returned sample. Thermal observations are among such multi-scale observations, providing a new insight into understanding planetary evolution process.</p> <p>Thermal infrared imager TIR (Okada et al., 2017; 2020) was used to take one-rotation global thermal images of Ryugu at every 6° step, from the home position (20 km altitude) or from the Mid-Altitude (5 km altitude). There were two big surprises contrary to the predictions before arrival at Ryugu: i) flat diurnal temperature profiles compared to the case of non-rough surface, and ii) non-cold spots identified for most of boulders. The flat diurnal temperature profiles and its maximum temperature in a day indicate that Ryugu must have very rough surfaces made of highly porous materials, derived from the thermal inertia of 300 ± 100 J K<sup>-1</sup>s<sup>-0.5</sup>m<sup>-2</sup> (hereafter, tiu). Non-cold boulders indicate that boulders are less consolidated or compacted than typical carbonaceous chondrite meteorites, and shows the same thermophysical properties as the surroundings. TIR was also used to take close-up thermal images during the descent operations, and to have proven that the surface of asteroid is covered with fragments of porous rocks, larger than several centimeters in diameter. The typical size of fragments larger than thermal skin depth (~35 mm) results in similar thermal properties between the boulders and their surroundings. We also consider the surface roughness effect (Shimaki et al., 2020) to obtain the maps of thermal inertia ( 225 ± 45 tiu) and the roughness (0.41 ± 0.05) at the same time, corresponding to very rough surfaces made of highly-porous materials. This thermal inertia is basically consistent with the value (282 +93/-35 tiu) by in situ measurement using a thermal radiometer MARA on MASCOT lander (Grott et al., 2019). Furthermore, in the close-up thermal images, there were found boulders colder by 20 °C or more, indicating the thermal inertia of typical carbonaceous chondrite meteorites.</p> <p>Considering these results, we proposed a formation scenario of Ryugu: fluffy cosmic dusts gathered to form porous planetesimals, and then much larger sized but still porous bodies. A low degree of consolidation and alteration has occurred at most of the body, while a higher degree of consolidation or alteration proceeded at the deep interior. Huge meteoritic impacts destroyed and fragmented the bodies, and part of those fragments were re-accreted to form the next generation, rubble-pile bodies (asteroids). Boulders found on Ryugu might have originated from the deep interior of parent bodies, so that most of them are very porous and less consolidated but some of them are relatively dense materials similar to carbonaceous chondrites, which might have originated from the interior. Due to YORP effect, the rotation rate decreased to current one, and the current shape of a spinning top-shape were formed. Analysis of returned sample will make progress in our knowledge of the planetary formation process.</p>

This paper summarizes the evidence for the optical effects of space weathering, as well as the properties of the surface that control optical changes, on asteroid (101955) Bennu. First, we set the stage by briefly reviewing what was known about space weathering of low-albedo materials from telescopic surveys, laboratory simulations, and sample return analysis. We then look at the evidence for the nature of space weathering on Bennu from recent spacecraft imaging and spectroscopy observations, including the visible to near-infrared and thermal infrared wavelengths, followed by other measurements such as normal albedo measurements from LIDAR scans. We synthesize these different lines of evidence in an effort to describe a general model of space weathering processes and resulting color effects on dark C-complex asteroids, with hypotheses that can be tested by analyzing samples returned by the mission. A working hypothesis that synthesizes findings thus far is that the optical effects of maturation in the space environment depend on the level of hydration of the silicate/phyllosilicate substrate. Subsequent variations in color depend on surface processes and exposure age. On strongly hydrated Bennu, in color imaging data, very young craters are darker and redder than their surroundings (more positive spectral slope in the wavelength range 0.4–0.7μm) as a result of their smaller particle sizes and/or fresh exposures of organics by impacts. Solar wind, dehydration, or migration of fines may cause intermediate-age surfaces to appear bluer than the very young craters. Exposed surfaces evolve toward Bennu's moderately blue global average spectral slope. However, in spectroscopic and LIDAR data, the equator, the oldest surface on Bennu, is darker and redder (wavelength range 0.55–2.0μm) than average and has shallower absorption bands, possibly due to dehydration and/or nanophase and/or microphase opaque production. Bennu is a rubble pile with an active surface, making age relationships, which are critical for determining space weathering signals, difficult to locate and quantify. Hence, the full story ultimately awaits analyses of the Bennu samples that will soon be delivered to Earth.