D. T. Britt
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View article: Interior and gravity characterization of the C-type asteroid (52246) Donaldjohanson seen by NASA’s Lucy flyby
Interior and gravity characterization of the C-type asteroid (52246) Donaldjohanson seen by NASA’s Lucy flyby Open
NASA’s Lucy [1] successfully flew by the C-type asteroid (52246) Donaldjohanson [2] on April 20, 2025 [3]. The asteroid exhibited unique topographic and geological features [4-6]. While the imaged area was limited to the illuminated hemisp…
View article: Phyllosilicates on Donaldjohanson as seen from the Lucy Flyby
Phyllosilicates on Donaldjohanson as seen from the Lucy Flyby Open
NASA’s Lucy mission [1] successfully completed a flyby encounter with the main-belt asteroid (52246) Donaldjohanson on April 20, 2025, collecting data as part of a full-scale operational test for Lucy’s future Trojan encounters. Donaldjoha…
View article: Understanding The Effects of Geotechnical Properties on Viscous Erosion Rate from Plume Surface Interactions
Understanding The Effects of Geotechnical Properties on Viscous Erosion Rate from Plume Surface Interactions Open
With humans returning to the Moon under the Artemis program, understanding and mitigating effects from Plume Surface Interactions (PSI) will be essential for the protection of personnel and equipment on the Moon. To help characterize the u…
View article: The Dehydration of Serpentines and Extraction of Water
The Dehydration of Serpentines and Extraction of Water Open
Some groups of carbonaceous chondrites are dominated by phyllosilicates, specifically the serpentine group, which are characterized as alternating layers of silicates, metal cations, and hydroxyl (OH). Both antigorite, an Mg-rich member, a…
View article: Low‐temperature thermal and physical properties of lunar meteorites
Low‐temperature thermal and physical properties of lunar meteorites Open
Lunar meteorites are the most diverse and readily available specimens for the direct laboratory study of lunar surface materials. In addition to informing us about the composition and heterogeneity of lunar material, measurements of their …
View article: Surface Compositions of Trojan Asteroids
Surface Compositions of Trojan Asteroids Open
The Jupiter Trojan asteroids are a key population for understanding the chemical and dynamical evolution of the Solar System. Surface compositions of Trojans, in turn, provide crucial information for reconstructing their histories. NASA’s …
View article: Cohesion and Shear Strength of Compacted Lunar and Martian Regolith Simulants
Cohesion and Shear Strength of Compacted Lunar and Martian Regolith Simulants Open
Shear strength and cohesion of granular materials are important geotechnical properties that play a crucial role in the stability and behavior of lunar and Martian regolith, as well as their terrestrial analog materials. To characterize an…
View article: A new launch pad failure mode: Analysis of fine particles from the launch of the first Starship orbital test flight
A new launch pad failure mode: Analysis of fine particles from the launch of the first Starship orbital test flight Open
This study examines the characteristics, composition, and origin of fine particle debris samples collected following the launch of the first Starship orbital test flight, which suggests a new launch pad failure mode previously unknown. Par…
View article: Shapes, Rotations, Photometric and Internal Properties of Jupiter Trojans
Shapes, Rotations, Photometric and Internal Properties of Jupiter Trojans Open
The Jupiter Trojans, being trapped around the stable L4 and L5 Jupiter Lagrangian points, are thought to be more primitive than the Main Belt asteroids. They are believed to have originated from a range of heliocentric distances in the tra…
View article: Development of icy regolith simulant for lunar permanently shadowed regions
Development of icy regolith simulant for lunar permanently shadowed regions Open
The lunar poles are thought to contain vast ice deposits that could be beneficial to future space exploration efforts. However, it is not well characterized how water ice content affects regolith and dust physical properties. In order to d…
View article: Characterization of planetary regolith simulants for the research and development of space resource technologies
Characterization of planetary regolith simulants for the research and development of space resource technologies Open
Human planetary exploration and colonization efforts are reliant on the ability to safely interact with planetary surfaces and to leverage local regolith as a resource. The high-cost and risk-intensive nature of establishing planetary infr…
View article: Interstellar Probe at the Intersection of Heliophysics & Planetary Science: Probing Endo- & Exo-Heliospheric Environments with Trans-Neptunian Objects
Interstellar Probe at the Intersection of Heliophysics & Planetary Science: Probing Endo- & Exo-Heliospheric Environments with Trans-Neptunian Objects Open
While the near-term Interstellar Probe mission will revolutionize our understanding of the astrosphere in which we live, it will provide only a snapshot of the history of the heliosphere.Trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs), with numerous option…
View article: Results of the 2015 Workshop on Asteroid Simulants
Results of the 2015 Workshop on Asteroid Simulants Open
The first asteroid simulants workshop was held in late 2015. These materials are needed for tests of technologies and mission operational concepts, for training astronauts , for medical studies, and a variety of other purposes. The new pro…
View article: Impact of Cytomegalovirus DNAemia Below the Lower Limit of Quantification: Multistate Model in Lung Transplant Recipients
Impact of Cytomegalovirus DNAemia Below the Lower Limit of Quantification: Multistate Model in Lung Transplant Recipients Open
Background Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infections following transplantation lead to significant morbidity. Identification of CMV DNAemia continually improves and now viral loads below the lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) are detectable. Howe…
View article: Impact of Cytomegalovirus DNAemia Below the Lower Limit of Quantification: Multistate Model in Lung Transplant Recipients
Impact of Cytomegalovirus DNAemia Below the Lower Limit of Quantification: Multistate Model in Lung Transplant Recipients Open
Background
\nCytomegalovirus (CMV) infections following transplantation lead to significant morbidity. Identification of CMV DNAemia continually improves and now viral loads below the lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) are detectable. H…
View article: Snow Crash: Compaction Craters on (486958) Arrokoth and Other Small KBOs, With Implications
Snow Crash: Compaction Craters on (486958) Arrokoth and Other Small KBOs, With Implications Open
Evidence from Arrokoth and comets strongly suggests a very low density for this and similar small Kuiper belt objects. Plausible compositions imply high porosities, in excess of 70%, and low compaction crush strengths. If so, impact crater…
View article: A Predicted Dearth of Majority Hypervolatile Ices in Oort Cloud Comets
A Predicted Dearth of Majority Hypervolatile Ices in Oort Cloud Comets Open
We present new, ice species-specific New Horizons/Alice upper gas coma production limits from the 2019 January 1 MU69/Arrokoth flyby of Gladstone et al. and use them to make predictions about the rarity of majority hypervolatile (CO, N 2 ,…
View article: Snow Crash: Compaction Craters on (486958) Arrokoth and Other Small KBOs
Snow Crash: Compaction Craters on (486958) Arrokoth and Other Small KBOs Open
Earth and Space Science Open Archive This preprint has been submitted to and is under consideration at Geophysical Research Letters. ESSOAr is a venue for early communication or feedback before peer review. Data may be preliminary.Learn mo…
View article: Anomalous Flux in the Cosmic Optical Background Detected with New Horizons Observations
Anomalous Flux in the Cosmic Optical Background Detected with New Horizons Observations Open
We used New Horizons LORRI images to measure the optical-band (0.4 ≲ λ ≲ 0.9 μ m) sky brightness within a high-galactic-latitude field selected to have reduced diffuse scattered light from the Milky Way galaxy (DGL), as inferred from the I…
View article: The Small Satellites of the Solar System: Priorities for the Decadal Study
The Small Satellites of the Solar System: Priorities for the Decadal Study Open
The small satellites are a diverse group of objects offering insights into the early formation of the Solar System and its collisional history. They can be subdivided into several groups: small inner moons, outer irregular moons, Martian m…
View article: The Future of Planetary Defense in the Era of Advanced Surveys
The Future of Planetary Defense in the Era of Advanced Surveys Open
International audience
View article: New Horizons Observations of the Cosmic Optical Background
New Horizons Observations of the Cosmic Optical Background Open
We used existing data from the New Horizons Long-range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) to measure the optical-band (0.4 ≲ λ ≲ 0.9 μ m) sky brightness within seven high–Galactic latitude fields. The average raw level measured while New Horizo…
View article: Stratigraphy of Ice and Ejecta Deposits at the Lunar Poles
Stratigraphy of Ice and Ejecta Deposits at the Lunar Poles Open
Water ice has been delivered to the lunar poles from different sources over billions of years, but this accumulation was punctuated by large impacts that excavated dry regolith from depth and emplaced it in layers over the poles. Here, we …
View article: An Asteroid Regolith Database for ISRU
An Asteroid Regolith Database for ISRU Open
We have developed the first database of asteroid regolith properties: fifty asteroids so far, to aid space resource utilisation workers. The physical parameters: grain density, grain size, near surface bulk density and porosity are provide…
View article: Hypervelocity impacts on carbonaceous asteroid simulants: comparison with observations
Hypervelocity impacts on carbonaceous asteroid simulants: comparison with observations Open
Hypervelocity impacts on carbonaceous asteroid simulants: comparison with observationsC. Avdellidou(1,2), Marco Delbo(1), Cody Schultz(3), Mark Price(2), Alice DiDonna(4), Bart Harthong(4), Mike Cole(2),Daniel Britt(3), Robert Peyroux…
View article: Simulated Asteroid and Planetary Materials at the CLASS Exolith Lab
Simulated Asteroid and Planetary Materials at the CLASS Exolith Lab Open
The Exolith Lab at The University of Central Florida’s Center for Lunar and Asteroid Surface Science (CLASS) produces high-mineralogical fidelity asteroid and planetary regolith simulants (several are pictured in Figure 1). Regolith …