Astronautica

Key Facts

• Categorized as a Inner Main-belt Asteroid
• Comparable in size to the U.S. Pentagon
• Not a Near Earth Object
• Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
• See orbit simulation

Overview

Astronautica is a mid-sized asteroid orbiting between Mars and Jupiter within the inner portion of the asteroid belt. NASA JPL has not classified Astronautica as potentially hazardous because its orbit does not bring it close to Earth.

Astronautica orbits the sun every 960 days (2.63 years), coming as close as 1.74 AU and reaching as far as 2.07 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, Astronautica is probably between 1.088 to 2.432 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, very roughly comparable in size to the U.S. Pentagon.

No Close Approaches

Astronautica's orbit is 0.74 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that there is a very wide berth between this asteroid and Earth at all times.

Orbital simulations conducted by NASA JPL's CNEOS do not show any close approaches to Earth.

Images and Observations

Astronautica's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Sept. 20, 1982. It was last officially observed on April 17, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 775 observations used to determine its orbit.

Accessibility and Exploration

This asteroid is not considered a viable target for human exploration by the NHATS study.

Similar Objects

These objects have orbits that share similar characteristics to the orbit of Astronautica:

• 1019 Strackea (A924 ES)
• 1235 Schorria (1931 UJ)
• 1453 Fennia (1938 ED1)

References

• JPL Small Body Database
• Mission Design
• Sky Finder Chart

Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of Astronautica is indicated by a ◯ pink circle. Note that the object may not be in your current field of view. Use the controls below to adjust position, location, and time.

Size Rendering

The above comparison is an artistic rendering that uses available data on the diameter of Astronautica to create an approximate landscape rendering with Mount Everest in the background. This approximation is built for full-resolution desktop browsers. Shape, color, and texture of asteroid are imagined.