Aster › Space program › 4179 Toutatis
4179 Toutatis
Position on the route: 23/181 · level needed 25 · journey (Mk0 engine) 9.4 h
By the numbers
| Size | ≈ 4.5 × 2.4 × 1.9 km |
|---|---|
| Year | 4.0 years |
| Found | 1989, Pollas |
| Chang’e-2 | 13 December 2012 |
The story
Toutatis is an Apollo asteroid found by Christian Pollas in 1989 that passes close to Earth. It tumbles in a complex way: there is no single rotation axis, several spins are mixed together.
China’s Chang’e-2, after completing its lunar mission, was sent on to it and passed at about 3 km on 13 December 2012, imaging a body that looks like two pieces joined. Because it comes close to Earth regularly, it is watched carefully.
Missions
- Chang’e-2 (CNSA, 2012): a flyby
Colony note
A near-Earth orbit; a mining outpost.
What probes bring back
- This near-Earth asteroid, about 4.5 × 2.4 × 1.9 km, tumbles about several axes at once. China’s Chang’e-2 flew past at about 3 km on 13 December 2012 and imaged it.
- It orbits the Sun every four years; in December 2004 it passed within about 1.5 million km of Earth, four lunar distances.