Orbital bistatic radar observations of asteroid Vesta by the Dawn mission

Elizabeth M. Palmer, Essam Heggy () and Wlodek Kofman
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Elizabeth M. Palmer: Western Michigan University
Essam Heggy: University of Southern California
Wlodek Kofman: Institut de Planétologie et d’Astrophysique de Grenoble (IPAG) UMR 5274

Nature Communications, 2017, vol. 8, issue 1, 1-11

Abstract: Abstract We present orbital bistatic radar observations of a small-body, acquired during occultation by the Dawn spacecraft at asteroid Vesta. The radar forward-scattering properties of different reflection sites are used to assess the textural properties of Vesta’s surface at centimeter-to-decimeter scales and are compared to subsurface hydrogen concentrations observed by Dawnʼs Gamma Ray and Neutron Detector to assess potential volatile occurrence in the surface and shallow subsurface. We observe significant differences in surface radar reflectivity, implying substantial spatial variations in centimeter-to-decimeter-scale surface roughness. Our results suggest that unlike the Moon, Vesta’s surface roughness variations cannot be explained by cratering processes only. In particular, the occurrence of heightened hydrogen concentrations within large smoother terrains (over hundreds of square kilometers) suggests that potential ground-ice presence may have contributed to the formation of Vesta’s current surface texture. Our observations are consistent with geomorphological evidence of transient water flow from Dawn Framing Camera images.

Date: 2017
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-017-00434-6

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