@article{282bbc0af8f147d3bcfa8c42c053c3d0,
title = "Shape of (101955) Bennu indicative of a rubble pile with internal stiffness",
abstract = "The shapes of asteroids reflect interplay between their interior properties and the processes responsible for their formation and evolution as they journey through the Solar System. Prior to the OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security–Regolith Explorer) mission, Earth-based radar imaging gave an overview of (101955) Bennu{\textquoteright}s shape. Here we construct a high-resolution shape model from OSIRIS-REx images. We find that Bennu{\textquoteright}s top-like shape, considerable macroporosity and prominent surface boulders suggest that it is a rubble pile. High-standing, north–south ridges that extend from pole to pole, many long grooves and surface mass wasting indicate some low levels of internal friction and/or cohesion. Our shape model indicates that, similar to other top-shaped asteroids, Bennu formed by reaccumulation and underwent past periods of fast spin, which led to its current shape. Today, Bennu might follow a different evolutionary pathway, with an interior stiffness that permits surface cracking and mass wasting.",
author = "{The OSIRIS-REx Team} and Barnouin, {O. S.} and Daly, {M. G.} and Palmer, {E. E.} and Gaskell, {R. W.} and Weirich, {J. R.} and Johnson, {C. L.} and {Al Asad}, {M. M.} and Roberts, {J. H.} and Perry, {M. E.} and Susorney, {H. C.M.} and Daly, {R. T.} and Bierhaus, {E. B.} and Seabrook, {J. A.} and Espiritu, {R. C.} and Nair, {A. H.} and L. Nguyen and Neumann, {G. A.} and Ernst, {C. M.} and Boynton, {W. V.} and Nolan, {M. C.} and Adam, {C. D.} and Moreau, {M. C.} and B. Rizk and {Drouet D{\textquoteright}Aubigny}, {C. Y.} and Jawin, {E. R.} and Walsh, {K. J.} and P. Michel and Schwartz, {S. R.} and Ballouz, {R. L.} and Mazarico, {E. M.} and Scheeres, {D. J.} and McMahon, {J. W.} and Bottke, {W. F.} and S. Sugita and N. Hirata and Watanabe, {S. I.} and Burke, {K. N.} and DellaGiustina, {D. N.} and Bennett, {C. A.} and Lauretta, {D. S.} and Highsmith, {D. E.} and J. Small and D. Vokrouhlick{\'y} and Bowles, {N. E.} and E. Brown and {Donaldson Hanna}, {K. L.} and T. Warren and C. Brunet and Chicoine, {R. A.} and Izawa, {M. R.M.}",
note = "Funding Information: This material is based on work supported by NASA under contract NNM10AA11C issued through the New Frontiers Program. The Canadian team members were supported by the Canadian Space Agency. P.M. acknowledges funding support from the French space agency CNES and from Academies of Excellence: Complex systems and Space, environment, risk, and resilience, part of the IDEX JEDI of the Universit{\'e} C{\^o}te d{\textquoteright}Azur. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2019, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited.",
year = "2019",
month = apr,
day = "1",
doi = "10.1038/s41561-019-0330-x",
language = "English",
volume = "12",
pages = "247--252",
journal = "Nature Geoscience",
issn = "1752-0894",
publisher = "Nature Publishing Group",
number = "4",
}