OSIRIS-REx Surface Imaging to Constrain Properties of the Asteroid (101955) Bennu

This study used images taken from the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft sample-return mission and projected onto a three-dimensional shape model to determine surface properties of the asteroid (101955) Bennu. Two major projects were completed. For the first project, images of the pre-sampled Nightingale site and post-sampled Nightingale were compared to determine how the TAGSAM sampling maneuver effected the surface of the asteroid directly at the sampling site and in the surrounding area. This analysis demonstrated how spacecraft can potentially affect a small body during this and future sample-return missions. For the second project, several craters on Bennu’s surface were selected and all of the boulders within their rims and up to one crater radius outward from their rims were counted and measured. The interior and exterior of all craters were compared which determined that there is a pattern that supports the existence of a subsurface layer of finer-grained material which could be responsible for cohesion on Bennu and potentially other rubble-pile asteroid