(612267) 2001 SG286

Near-Earth asteroid September 2020 yes (612267) 2001 SG 286 #FFC2E0 LINEAR 27 September 2001 Socorro, United States (612267) 2001 SG 286 Apollo NEO 5 May 2005 (JD 2460800.5) 1.3583 AU Gm on 0.8864 AU Gm on 1.8302 AU Gm on on 0.3474 1.583 yr (578.231 d) 7.773° 241.110° 56.273° 1.0953° 160 30 m3085 12.3 0.01 h3085 D-type9 or S-type3085 20.91 (JPL)21.4 0.3 (Gherase et al.)3085 0.6226° / day 6988 days (19.13 yr) 0 .00515 AU (612267) 2001 SG 286 is a small, unnamed near-Earth asteroid orbiting in the inner Solar System. Classified as an Apollo asteroid, its orbit crosses Earth's. Like many near-Earth asteroids, it is thought to originate from the main asteroid belt, ejected into the inner Solar System through dynamical interactions with Jupiter and Saturn. Initially classified as a relatively rare D-type asteroid, more recent spectroscopic observations indicate it is instead a stony S-type asteroid. It was discovered on 27 September 2001 by the LINEAR survey at the Lincoln Laboratory's Experimental Test Site near Socorro, New Mexico, United States. It was considered as a sample-return target for the Marco Polo and the MarcoPolo-2D mission concepts, but the proposals were rejected in 2010 and 2015, respectively. Orbit thumb|left|A diagram of 2001 SG 286's orbit, with the orbits of the inner planets shown for comparison. Orbiting at an average distance of 1.3583 astronomical units (AU) from the Sun, 2001 SG 286 is classified as both an Apollo asteroid and a near-Earth asteroid (NEA). Over the course of its 1.58 year day off long orbit, its distance from the Sun varies from 0.8864 AU at perihelion to 1.8302 AU at aphelion. Its orbit is moderately elliptical, with an orbital eccentricity of 0.3474, and has an orbital inclination of 7.773° with respect to the ecliptic plane. NEAs are chaotic objects that have mean dynamical lifetimes shorter than the age of the Solar System. Over 10–100 million years (Myr), NEAs are removed through ejection into interstellar space or collisions with the inner planets. NEAs are then likely repopulated by fragments originating from the asteroid belt. Investigations of 2001 SG 286's dynamical history, conducted through numerical integration models, indicate that it most likely originated through the destabilizing secular resonance with Saturn in the inner main belt. Another less probable source is through the 3:1 mean-motion resonance with Jupiter, located at about 2.5 AU. 2001 SG 286's spectral type indicates an origin in the outer main belt, but dynamical models fail to reproduce its current position for an outer main belt origin. If 2001 SG 286 originates from the outer main belt, then its orbit may have been influenced by the Yarkovsky effect until it reached either the secular resonance or 3:1 Jovian resonance. In the future, 2001 SG 286 is likely to eventually collide with the Sun after encounters with the inner planets and interactions with the 3:1 Jovian resonance or both the 4:1 Jovian resonance and the secular resonance.524–526 Physical characteristics 2001 SG 286 was initially classified under the spectral type D within the Bus–DeMeo classification scheme in a 2004 spectroscopic survey in the visible-wavelength range led by astronomer Richard P. Binzel.358,3603085 Using an assumed albedo of 0.09—typical for D-type asteroids—Binzel et al. calculated an estimated diameter of about 350 m ft for the asteroid. A followup study led by Marcel Popescu reaffirmed 2001 SG 286's D-type classification using observations in both visible and near-infrared wavelengths.9 However, more accurate observations in 2024 revealed that 2001 SG 286's spectrum is instead consistent with the more common S-type classification, with data from the 1-μm band indicative of an olivine–pyroxene composition. In previous studies, the 1-μm band was hidden by noise, leading to the earlier D-type classification. Using the average S-type albedo of 0.20, 2001 SG 286's estimated diameter was recalculated as 160 m ft, with an uncertainty of 30 m ft.3085 Analysis of 2001 SG 286's lightcurve—variations in its observed brightness as it rotates—shows that it rotates once every 12.3 hours, with an uncertainty of 0.01 hours. This makes 2001 SG 286 a slow rotator. Its lightcurve has an amplitude of 0.62 mag.3085–3086 Exploration 2001 SG 286 serves as an attractive target for a spacecraft mission due to its accessibility—the delta-v budget required to reach it is roughly 5.6 km/s.94486 2001 SG 286 was considered as one of several candidate targets for the Marco Polo mission concept, an asteroid sample-return mission studied by the European Space Agency (ESA) under its Cosmic Vision program as a collaboration with JAXA. In early 2010, the advisory body of ESA's Science and Robotic Exploration Directorate rejected the Marco Polo concept. A resubmitted proposal for the Cosmic Vision M4 opportunity, under the name MarcoPolo-2D, selected 2001 SG 286 as the mission's baseline target. MarcoPolo-2D was proposed as a collaboration between the ESA and the China National Space Administration (CNSA), and would have involved an orbiter and sample-return lander.3078 MarcoPolo-2D was rejected in the first round of competition in 2015, likely due to budgetary concerns. See also 162173 Ryugu – baseline target for the original Marco Polo study; visited by the Hayabusa2 sample-return mission in 2018. References (612267) = 2001 SG286 https://www.minorplanetcenter.net/db_search/show_object?object_id=612267 https://web.archive.org/web/20250123044027/https://www.minorplanetcenter.net/db_search/show_object?object_id=612267 23 January 2025 Minor Planet Center 26 July 2025 live (217 obs) MPEC 2001-S72 : 2001 SG286 https://www.minorplanetcenter.net/mpec/K01/K01S72.html Minor Planet Center Staff Minor Planet Electronic Circular Minor Planet Center 10.48377/MPEC/2001-S7 2001-S7 29 September 2001 31 July 2025 27 July 2025 9 July 2024 https://web.archive.org/web/20240709072650/https://www.minorplanetcenter.net/mpec/K01/K01S72.html live 2020-11-14 last obs. JPL Small-Body Database Lookup: 612267 (2001 SG286) https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/tools/sbdb_lookup.html#/?sstr=2001%20SG286 Jet Propulsion Laboratory 26 July 2025 17 July 2025 https://web.archive.org/web/20250717043055/https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/tools/sbdb_lookup.html#/?sstr=2001%20SG286 live Popescu M. Birlan M. Binzel R. Vernazza P. Barucci A. Nedelcu D. A. DeMeo DeMeo Fulchignoni M. Spectral properties of eight near-Earth asteroids November 2011 Astronomy & Astrophysics 535 A15 A15 10.1051/0004-6361/201117118 free 2011A&A...535A..15P Barucci Maria Antonietta et al. Small D-type asteroids in the NEO population: new targets for space missions June 2018 Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 476 4 4481–4487 10.1093/mnras/sty532 free 2018MNRAS.476.4481B Binzel Richard P. Xu Shui Bus Schelte J. Bowell Edward Origins for the Near-Earth Asteroids August 1992 Science 257 5071 779–782 10.1126/science.257.5071.779 17736464 1992Sci...257..779B Michel Patrick Delbo Marco Orbital and thermal evolutions of four potential targets for a sample return space mission to a primitive near-Earth asteroid October 2010 Icarus 209 2 520–534 10.1016/j.icarus.2010.05.013 2010Icar..209..520M https://hal.science/hal-00676220 24 February 2023 31 July 2025 https://web.archive.org/web/20230224051007/https://hal.science/hal-00676220 live Gherase R. M. et al. The physical properties of two potential targets for space missions: (155140) 2005 UD and (612267) 2001 SG286 December 2024 Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 535 4 3077–3087 10.1093/mnras/stae2460 free 2024MNRAS.535.3077G Binzel Richard P. Perozzi Ettore Rivkin Andrew S. Rossi Alessandro Harris Alan W. Bus Schelte J. Valsecchi Giovanni B. Slivan Stephen M. Dynamical and compositional assessment of near-Earth object mission targets March 2004 Meteoritics & Planetary Science 39 3 351–366 10.1111/j.1945-5100.2004.tb00098.x free 2004M&PS...39..351B https://sci.esa.int/web/cosmic-vision/-/48792-marco-polo Marco Polo Mission Summary European Space Agency 1 September 2019 31 July 2025 https://web.archive.org/web/20250720062132/https://sci.esa.int/web/cosmic-vision/-/48792-marco-polo 20 July 2025 https://sci.esa.int/documents/33159/36306/1567257335432-MarcoPolo_OHB_ExecutiveSummary.pdf 22 September 2009 Marco Polo Assessment Study Katzkowski M. 20 May 2025 31 July 2025 https://web.archive.org/web/20250520130932/https://sci.esa.int/documents/33159/36306/1567257335432-MarcoPolo_OHB_ExecutiveSummary.pdf live https://stem.open.ac.uk/research-project/marcopolo/overview/marcopolo-2d MarcoPolo-2D overview The Open University 31 July 2025 Amos, Jonathan https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-31113256 Europe drops asteroid sample-return idea BBC News 18 March 2015 31 July 2025 https://web.archive.org/web/20241219162444/https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-31113256 19 December 2024 External links 612267 612267 612267 612267 (612267) 2001 SG 286 612267 612267 612267 612267 20010927