nhats

Taking a look at the boards- we have an object of some interest in Earth’s vicinity for the next few weeks.

2023 YO₁, an Apollo-type NEO, was discovered at the tail end of 2023 (as its designation suggests). It just passed Earth Closest Approach (Jan. 10) of ~2,600,000 km (nothing unusual), and will be in our immediate vicinity til ~Jan 21. This fairly long pass (~Earth month) is no fluke: 2023 YO₁ has a slow (Earth-relative) velocity, due to its Earthlike orbit. In turn, this close orbit (including relatively low inclination, 4.4 deg.) makes it an accessible object. The mission ∆v is, for the flight trajectories put out so far, ~4.12 km/s. This is not only quite low- among the handful of lowest asteroid flights on our tables.  But, like many NEO trips being put on the tables- it’s less energetic than a lander to Earth’s moon. Certainly a soft (powered, necessarily) lander, and lower in ∆v than a hard lander.Read More »Potentially Halcyon Object: 2023 YO1