Martian Trojans Research Articles

Composition and origin of L5 Trojan asteroids of Mars: Insights from spectroscopy

We investigate the mineralogical makeup of L5 Martian Trojan asteroids via reflectance spectroscopy, paying special attention to (101429) 1998 VF31, the only L5 Trojan that does not belong to the Eureka family (Christou, 2013). We find that this asteroid most likely belongs to the Bus-Demeo S-complex, in agreement with Rivkin et al. (2007). We compare it with a variety of solar system bodies and obtain good spectral matches with Sq- or S-type asteroids, with spectra of the lunar surface and of Martian and lunar meteorites. Mixture fitting to spectral endmembers suggests a surface abundance of Mg-rich orthopyroxene and iron metal or, alternatively, a combination of plagioclase and metal with a small amount of Mg-poor orthopyroxene. The metallic component may be part of the intrinsic mineral makeup of the asteroid or an indication of extreme space weathering. In light of our findings, we discuss a number of origin scenarios for (101429). The asteroid could be genetically related to iron-rich primitive achondrite meteorites (Rivkin et al 2007), may have originated as impact ejecta from Mars - a scenario proposed recently for the Eureka family asteroids (Polishook et al., 2017) - or could represent a relic fragment of the Moon's original solid crust, a possibility raised by the asteroid's close spectral similarity to areas of the lunar surface. If, on the other hand, (101429) is a relatively recent addition to the Martian Trojan clouds (Christou et al., 2020), its origin is probably traced to high-inclination asteroid families in the Inner Main Belt. For the olivine-dominated Eureka family, we find that the two smaller asteroids in our sample are more spectrally similar to one another than to (5261) Eureka, the largest family member. Spectral profiles of these three asteroids are closely similar shortward of ~0.7 μm but diverge at longer wavelengths. For the two smaller asteroids in particular, we find the spectra are virtually identical in the visible region and up to 0.8 μm. We attribute spectral differences in the near-IR region to differences in either: degree of space weathering, olivine chemical composition and/or regolith grain size.

Population control of Mars Trojans by the Yarkovsky & YORP effects

We explore the hypothesis that the population of Martian Trojans is the result of a balance between the production of new asteroids (“YORPlets”) through the YORP effect and their eventual escape from the Trojan clouds through Yarkovsky-driven orbital evolution. Our principal observables are: (5261) Eureka, its family of 8 asteroids and the family-less Trojans (101429) 1998 VF31 & (121514) 1999 UJ7. We model the population evolution as a birth-death random process and assume it is in a steady state. We then simulate the discovery of Trojans to-date and find that family members of 101429 and 121514, if they exist, are intrinsically more difficult to detect than Eureka's. Their non-discovery can be used as evidence of their non-existence only under the assumption that their brightness relative to the parent asteroid is similar to that in the Eureka family. To find out how efficiently Mars Trojans are lost from the Trojan clouds due to the Yarkovsky effect, we carry out dynamical simulations of test particles originating from these parent bodies. We find that objects originating from Eureka and 121514 begin escaping after ~1 Gyr, but that those from 101429 are already lost by that time, probably due to that asteroid's proximity to an eccentricity-type secular resonance within Mars's co-orbital region. This is the likely cause behind the absence of Trojans in the orbital vicinity of 101429. In contrast, the solitary status of 121514 points to an intrinsic inability of the asteroid to produce YORPlets during the most recent ~20% of the solar system's history, a finding potentially related to 121514’s present, low angular momentum rotational state, unless the Eureka family formed rapidly during a single fission event.

(121514) 1999 UJ7: A primitive, slow-rotating Martian Trojan

Aims. The goal of this investigation is to determine the origin and surface composition of the asteroid (121514) 1999 UJ7, the only currently known L4 Martian Trojan asteroid. Methods. We have obtained visible reflectance spectra and photometry of 1999 UJ7 and compared the spectroscopic results with the spectra of a number of taxonomic classes and subclasses. A light curve was obtained and analysed to determine the asteroid spin state. Results. The visible spectrum of 1999 UJ7 exhibits a negative slope in the blue region and the presence of a wide and deep absorption feature centred around ~0.65 μm. The overall morphology of the spectrum seems to suggest a C-complex taxonomy. The photometric behaviour is fairly complex. The light curve shows a primary period of 1.936 d, but this is derived using only a subset of the photometric data. The asteroid may be in a non-principal axis rotational state, but our observational coverage is insufficient to draw definitive conclusions. Conclusions. Although the observed spectral absorption is wider and deeper, this finding may be compatible with the 0.7 μm spectral feature exhibited by some Ch-type asteroids and could possibly be interpreted as diagnostic of the presence of hydrated minerals. The inferred composition of 1999 UJ7 as a primitive object can be consistent with a volatile-rich object originally accreted beyond the snow line of the solar system, and subsequently evolved to reach the inner regions of the solar system.

Implantation of Martian Materials in the Inner Solar System by a Mega Impact on Mars

Abstract Observations and meteorites indicate that the Martian materials are enigmatically distributed within the inner solar system. A mega impact on Mars creating a Martian hemispheric dichotomy and the Martian moons can potentially eject Martian materials. A recent work has shown that the mega-impact-induced debris is potentially captured as the Martian Trojans and implanted in the asteroid belt. However, the amount, distribution, and composition of the debris has not been studied. Here, using hydrodynamic simulations, we report that a large amount of debris (∼1% of Mars’ mass), including Martian crust/mantle and the impactor’s materials (∼20:80), are ejected by a dichotomy-forming impact, and distributed between ∼0.5–3.0 au. Our result indicates that unmelted Martian mantle debris (∼0.02% of Mars’ mass) can be the source of Martian Trojans, olivine-rich asteroids in the Hungarian region and the main asteroid belt, and some even hit the early Earth. The evidence of a mega impact on Mars would be recorded as a spike of 40Ar–39Ar ages in meteorites. A mega impact can naturally implant Martian mantle materials within the inner solar system.

Orbital clustering of martian Trojans: An asteroid family in the inner Solar System?

We report on the discovery of new martian Trojans within the Minor Planet Center list of asteroids. Their orbital evolution over 108yr shows characteristic signatures of dynamical longevity (Scholl, H., Marzari, F., Tricarico, P. [2005]. Icarus 175, 397–408) while their average orbits resemble that of the largest known martian Trojan, 5261 Eureka. The group forms a cluster within the region where the most stable Trojans should reside. Based on a combinatorial analysis and a comparison with the jovian Trojan population, we argue that both this feature and the apparent paucity of km-sized martian Trojans (Trilling, D.E., Spahr, T.B., Rivkin, A.S., Hergenrother, C.W., Kortenkamp, S.J. [2006]. ID 2006A-0251) as compared to expectations from earlier work (Tabachnik, S., Evans, N.W. [1999]. Astrophys. J. 517, L63–L66) is not due to observational bias but instead a natural end result of the collisional comminution (Jutzi, M., Michel, P., Benz, W., Richardson, D.C. [2010]. Icarus 207, 54–65) or, alternatively, the rotational fission (Pravec, P. et al. [2010]. Nature 466, 1085–1088) of a progenitor L5 Trojan of Mars. Under the collisional scenario in particular, the new martian Trojans are dynamically young, in agreement with our age estimate of this “cluster” of <2Gyr based on the earlier work of Scholl et al. (Scholl, H., Marzari, F., Tricarico, P. [2005]. Icarus 175, 397–408). This work highlights the Trojan regions of the terrestrial planets as natural laboratories to study processes important for small body evolution in the Solar System and provides the first direct evidence for an orbital cluster of asteroids close to the Earth.

MarsSat: Assured Communication with Mars

The author developed the MarsSat concept during the 1990s. For this task, he designed a class of orbits to solve the problem of communicating with crews on Mars when the planet is in solar conjunction as seen from Earth, a planetary configuration that occurs near the midpoint of a conjunction class mission to Mars. This type of orbit minimizes the distance between Mars and the communications satellite; thus, minimizing the size, weight, and power requirements, while providing a simultaneous line-of-sight to both Earth and Mars. The MarsSat orbits are solar orbits that have the same period as Mars, but are inclined a few degrees out of the plane of the Mars orbit and also differ in eccentricity from the orbit of Mars. These differences cause a spacecraft in this orbit to rise North of Mars, then fall behind Mars, then drop South of Mars, and then pull ahead of Mars, by some desired distance in each case-typically about 20 million kilometers-in order to maintain an angular separation of a couple of degrees as seen from a point in the orbit of Earth on the opposite side of the Sun. A satellite in this type of orbit would relay communications between Earth and Mars during the period of up to several weeks, when direct communication is blocked by the Sun. These orbits are far superior for this purpose when compared to stationing a satellite at one of the Sun-Mars equilateral Lagrangian points, L(4) or L(5), for two reasons. First, L(4) and L(5) are 228 million kilometers from Mars, about 10 times the distance of a spacecraft in one of the MarsSat orbits, and by virtue of the inverse-square law, all other things being equal, the signal strength received at L(4) or L(5) would be one percent of the signal strength received by a spacecraft in one of the MarsSat orbits. Thus, a relay satellite stationed at L(4) or L(5) would have to be that much more powerful to receive data at the same rate, with concomitant increases in spacecraft size and weight. Second, a number of Martian Trojan asteroids have been discovered at the Sun-Mars L(4) and L(5) points, and there are probably countless smaller objects that have collected in these regions that pose a significant threat to any spacecraft located there.

Existence of Asteroids in the Inner Solar System

Ensembles of in-plane and inclined orbits in the vicinity of the Lagrange points of the terrestrial planets are integrated for up to 100 million years. Mercurian Trojans probably do not exist, although there is evidence for long-lived, corotating horseshoe orbits with small inclinations. Both Venus and the Earth are much more promising, as they possess rich families of stable tadpole and horseshoe orbits. Our survey of in-plane test particles near the Martian Lagrange points shows no survivors after 60 million years. Low inclination test particles do not persist, as their inclinations are quickly increased until the effects of a secular resonance with Jupiter cause de-stabilisation. Numerical integrations of inclined test particles for timespans of 25 million years show stable zones for inclinations between 14° and 40°. Both Martian Trojans 5261 Eureka and 1998 VF31 lie deep within the stable zones, which suggests they may be of primordial origin.

Cartography for Martian Trojans

The last few months have seen the discovery of a second Martian Trojan (1998 VF31) as well as two further possible candidates (1998 QH56 and 1998 SD4). Together with the previously discovered Martian satellite 5261 Eureka, these are the only known possible solar system Trojan asteroids not associated with Jupiter. Here maps of the locations of the stable Trojan trajectories of Mars are presented. These are constructed by integrating an ensemble of in-plane and inclined orbits in the vicinity of the Martian Lagrangian points for between 25 and 60 million years. The survivors occupy a band of inclinations between 15° and 40° and longitudes between 240° and 330° at the L5 Lagrangian point. Around the L4 point, stable Trojans inhabit two bands of inclinations (15° < i < 30° and 32° < i < 40°) with longitudes restricted between 25° and 120°. Both 5261 Eureka and 1998 VF31 lie deep within one of the stable zones, which suggests that they may be of primordial origin. Around Mars, the number of such undiscovered primordial objects with sizes greater than 1 km may be as high as ~50. The two candidates 1998 QH56 and 1998 SD4 are not presently on Trojan orbits and will enter the sphere of influence of Mars within half a million years.

On the stability of Martian Trojans

On the stability of Martian Trojans