Detailed Images of Asteroid 25143 Itokawa from Hayabusa
Science2006Vol. 312(5778), pp. 1341–1344
Citations Over TimeTop 10% of 2006 papers
J. Saito, Hideaki Miyamoto, Ryosuke Nakamura, Masateru Ishiguro, Tatsuhiro Michikami, A. Nakamura, H. Demura, S. Sasaki, Naru Hirata, Chikatoshi Honda, Aya Yamamoto, Y. Yokota, T. Fuse, Fumi Yoshida, D. J. Tholen, R. W. Gaskell, Tatsuaki Hashimoto, Takuji Kubota, Yuta Higuchi, Tomohiko Nakamura, Peter H. Smith, K. Hiraoka, T. Honda, Shingo Kobayashi, M. Furuya, N. Matsumoto, Etsuko Nemoto, Akira Yukishita, K. Kitazato, Budi Dermawan, Akito Sogame, J. Terazono, C. Shinohara, H. Akiyama
Abstract
Rendezvous of the Japanese spacecraft Hayabusa with the near-Earth asteroid 25143 Itokawa took place during the interval September through November 2005. The onboard camera imaged the solid surface of this tiny asteroid (535 meters by 294 meters by 209 meters) with a spatial resolution of 70 centimeters per pixel, revealing diverse surface morphologies. Unlike previously explored asteroids, the surface of Itokawa reveals both rough and smooth terrains. Craters generally show unclear morphologies. Numerous boulders on Itokawa's surface suggest a rubble-pile structure.
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