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Gravitation of Rubble-pile Asteroid with Internal N-body Structure

Objective

The study of asteroids addresses a number of questions relevant for space engineers, planetary scientists and physicists. Near Earth Asteroids are a great opportunity for technological, human exploration missions and for asteroids resources exploitation. Sadly, they can also represent a threat for the planet. The scientific and technological exploitation and the implementation of mitigation actions for hazardous asteroids rely upon our knowledge of their properties. Remote surveys play a fundamental role to estimate asteroid properties, but they can only provide limited information: there is no mean to reconstruct their internal structure. GRAINS addresses such problem through N-body numerical simulations of gravitational aggregation. This method is suitable to estimate the internal properties of rubble-pile asteroids: gravitational aggregates with very low tensile strength and high level of porosity. The study of aggregation phenomena currently relies on codes optimized for a large number of mutually interacting particles, regardless of their individual shape and rigid body motion. Although not relevant for many applications, this limitation could be relevant for the case of asteroids, as suggested by results of granular dynamics in terrestrial engineering applications. The latter are commonly studied using multi-body codes, able to simulate contact interactions between a large number of complex-shaped bodies, but not suitable for gravitational dynamics. The goal of the project is to joint the advantages of both classes of codes into a single implementation, able to reproduce N-body gravitational dynamics between a large number of complex-shaped rigid bodies. GRAINS plans to use the implemented code to study relevant aggregation scenarios and to assess the accuracy of obtained asteroid models. The outcome of the GRAINS project will be a new and powerful tool to study asteroids and their internal properties based on information available from remote observations.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

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Programme(s)

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Topic(s)

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Funding Scheme

Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.

MSCA-IF-GF - Global Fellowships

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Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

(opens in new window) H2020-MSCA-IF-2017

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Coordinator

POLITECNICO DI MILANO
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 176 203,80
Address
PIAZZA LEONARDO DA VINCI 32
20133 Milano
Italy

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Region
Nord-Ovest Lombardia Milano
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
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Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

€ 176 203,80

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