Shape, regolith size and thickness, SMFe^0 content, and spectral type of Tianwen-2 target asteroid (469219) Kamo’oalewaOPEN ACCESS
Pengfei Zhang, Guozheng Zhang, Yongxiong Zhang, Marco Fenucci, Pierre Vernazza, Jin Zhao, Yunbo Niu, Xuejin Lu, Xing Wu, Honglei Lin, Edward Cloutis, Xiaoran Yan, Xiaoping Lu, Xiaobin Wang, Xiaoping Zhang, Yang Li
under revision in Astronomy & Astrophysics, March 31, 2026
“Context. China’s Tianwen-2 spacecraft will return samples from the near-Earth asteroid (469219) Kamo‘oalewa. We previously reported that Kamo‘oalewa develops an LL-chondrite-compositional, highly space-weathered surface.
Aims. This study aims to estimate Kamo‘oalewa’s shape, regolith grain size and thickness, sub-micrometer iron (SMFe0) content, and spectral type.
Methods. Using the lightcurve data and the Cellinoid model, we modeled Kamo‘oalewa’s shape, rotation period, and pole orientation. We then estimated its global distribution of regolith critical size using the balance method of gravity, cohesive force, and centrifugal force. Furthermore, in the temperature range of 253.15 to 473.15 K, we measured the thermal parameters of laser-irradiated LL chondrite powder that best matches Kamo‘oalewa’s spectrum, estimating Kamo‘oalewa’s thermal inertia and skin depth (lower limit of regolith thickness). Using the radiative transfer mixing model, we also estimated the content of SMFe0 in Kamo‘oalewa’s regolith. Finally, using the MIT online spectral classification tool for the laser-irradiated LL chondrite powder, we obtained a virtual spectral type of Kamo‘oalewa.
Results. Our model gives a size of 68 m × 46 m × 39 m, a rotation period of 27.66 minutes, and a pole orientation of 134.7◦ longitude and −11.4◦ latitude for kamo‘oalewa. Regolith grains with a size <2 cm can remain stable over 93.8% of the global surface area of Kamo‘oalewa. Laser-irradiated LL chondrite powder shows a low thermal inertia (95.5 to 135.1 J m−2 K−1 s−1/2), corresponding to a thermal skin depth of 3 to 3.5 mm on Kamo‘oalewa. An SMFe0 content of 0.29 ± 0.05 wt.% is required to match Kamo‘oalewa’s spectrum. The virtual spectral type of Kamo‘oalewa is given as “Sqw”.”
