Asteroid Muon Tomography

Asteroid Muon Tomography: A feasibility study on using galactic cosmic rays to map small Solar System body interiors.

Reichert, Jules (TU Delft Aerospace Engineering)

Menicucci, A. (mentor)

Delft University of Technology

Aerospace Engineering

2021-01-15

Asteroids and comets are thought to be the primordial remnants of our early Solar System, their interior structure and composition providing a snapshot of this turbulent era of planet formation. Thus far, everything we know of the internals of these small Solar System bodies has been inferred from surface observations and meteorite mineralogy. Evidence suggests however that their surface characteristics might not be representative of their interior features, due to effects like granular convection and space weathering. One proposed method to directly measure these features makes use of the already present galactic cosmic ray flux. Muons are created in collisions between the asteroid surface and these cosmic rays, their properties altered by the type and quantity of material traversed. By measuring the muon flux exiting the surface, the interior can be reconstructed. This thesis surveys the feasibility of muon tomography in space, with model creation and particle passage simulations.

muon
tomography
asteroid
interior
Geant4

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:409c0c23-f012-400c-93c2-d780d56ed6f0

Student theses

master thesis

© 2021 Jules Reichert