Distribution and Orientation of Boulders on Asteroid 25143 Itokawa.

摘要

In the research of early planetary system evolution processes, the study of primitive asteroids is key. The objective of this thesis is to confirm and update any previously identified trends in the global and regional distribution of boulders on asteroid 25143 Itokawa, as well as, to discover new findings to better understand the history of this asteroid. Itokawa is a near-Earth object, and the first asteroid that was targeted for a sample return mission. Trends in boulder population should provide new insights in regards to Itokawa's current appearance following the disruption of a possible parent body, and how its surface might have changed since then. The population of boulders will also be analyzed with respect to latitude for both Itokawa's current state, and a hypothetical parent body. In particular, boulder distribution over the surface of the asteroid might provide a means to test the hypothesis of whether or not Itokawa is a contact binary.