Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Rocket Propulsion In Empty Space - II

Rocket Propulsion In Empty Space - II

The motion of a rocket is governed by the conservation of momentum principle. A rocket's momentum changes by the same amount (with the opposite sign) as the ejected gases. As time goes by, the rocket's mass (which includes the mass of the remaining fuel) continuously decreases, and its velocity increases. Therefore, the principle of conservation of momentum is used to explain the dynamics of a rocket's motion. The ideal rocket equation gives the change in velocity that a rocket experiences by...

Rocket Propulsion in Empty Space - I

Rocket Propulsion in Empty Space - I

The driving force for the motion of any vehicle is friction, but in the case of rocket propulsion in space, the friction force is not present. The motion of a rocket changes its velocity (and hence its momentum) by ejecting burned fuel gases, thus causing it to accelerate in the direction opposite to the velocity of the ejected fuel. In this situation, the mass and velocity of the rocket constantly change along with the total mass of ejected gases. Due to conservation of momentum, the rocket's...

Kepler's Second Law of Planetary Motion

Kepler's Second Law of Planetary Motion

In the early 17th century, German astronomer and mathematician Johannes Kepler postulated three laws for the motion of planets in the solar system. His first law states that all planets orbit the Sun in an elliptical orbit, with the Sun at one of the ellipse's foci. Therefore, the distance of a planet from the Sun varies throughout its revolution around the Sun.
While in an elliptical orbit, the total energy of the planet is conserved. Therefore, the planet slows down when it is at apogee and...

Kepler's First Law of Planetary Motion

Kepler's First Law of Planetary Motion

In the early 17th century, German astronomer and mathematician Johannes Kepler postulated three laws for the motion of planets in the solar system. He formulated his first two laws based on the observations of his forebears, Nikolaus Copernicus and Tycho Brahe.
Polish astronomer Nikolaus Copernicus put forth a theory that stated a heliocentric model for the solar system. According to this heliocentric theory, all the planets, including Earth, orbit the Sun in circular orbits.
On the other hand,...

Kepler's Third Law of Planetary Motion

Kepler's Third Law of Planetary Motion

In the early 17th century, German astronomer and mathematician Johannes Kepler postulated three laws for the motion of planets in the solar system. In 1909, he formulated his first two laws based on the observations of his forebears, Nikolaus Copernicus and Tycho Brahe. However, in 1918, he published his third law of planetary motion, which gives a precise mathematical relationship between a planet's average distance from the Sun and the amount of time it takes to revolve around the Sun. It...

Rocket Propulsion in Gravitational Field - II

Rocket Propulsion in Gravitational Field - II

A rocket's velocity in the presence of a gravitational field is decreased by the amount of force exerted by Earth's gravitational field, which opposes the motion of the rocket. If we consider thrust, that is, the force exerted on a rocket by the exhaust gases, then a rocket's thrust is greater in outer space than in the atmosphere or on a launch pad. In fact, gases are easier to expel in a vacuum.
A rocket's acceleration depends on three major factors, consistent with the equation for the...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Repertoire and clinical hierarchy of AR locus alterations in castration-resistant prostate cancer.

Annals of oncology : official journal of the European Society for Medical Oncology·2025

Same author

Search for Subsolar-Mass Binaries in the First Half of Advanced LIGO's and Advanced Virgo's Third Observing Run.

Physical review letters·2022

Same author

A firearm double homicide committed by a paranoid neigh- bor: a psychopathological study.

La Clinica terapeutica·2022

Same author

From doctor to incendiary nun: the importance of analysing the pathways of trauma.

La Clinica terapeutica·2022

Same author

Nuclear Charge Radii of the Nickel Isotopes ^{58-68,70}Ni.

Physical review letters·2022

Same author

Mid-infrared emissivity of partially dehydrated asteroid (162173) Ryugu shows strong signs of aqueous alteration.

Nature communications·2022

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 17, 2026

Scattering And Absorption of Light in Planetary Regoliths

Scattering And Absorption of Light in Planetary Regoliths

Published on: July 1, 2019

E-type asteroid (2867) Steins as imaged by OSIRIS on board Rosetta.

H U Keller¹, C Barbieri, D Koschny

¹Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, Katlenburg-Lindau, Germany. keller@linmpi.mpg.de

Science (New York, N.Y.)

|January 9, 2010

Summary

The Rosetta mission revealed asteroid Steins is a rubble pile, not solid rock. Images provide direct evidence of the Yarkovsky-O'Keefe-Radzievskii-Paddack (YORP) effect reshaping asteroids.

More Related Videos

Simulating Imaging of Large Scale Radio Arrays on the Lunar Surface

Simulating Imaging of Large Scale Radio Arrays on the Lunar Surface

Published on: July 30, 2020

Bringing the Visible Universe into Focus with Robo-AO

Bringing the Visible Universe into Focus with Robo-AO

Published on: February 12, 2013

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 17, 2026

Scattering And Absorption of Light in Planetary Regoliths

Scattering And Absorption of Light in Planetary Regoliths

Published on: July 1, 2019

Simulating Imaging of Large Scale Radio Arrays on the Lunar Surface

Simulating Imaging of Large Scale Radio Arrays on the Lunar Surface

Published on: July 30, 2020

Bringing the Visible Universe into Focus with Robo-AO

Bringing the Visible Universe into Focus with Robo-AO

Published on: February 12, 2013

Area of Science:

Planetary Science
Asteroid Research
Space Exploration

Background:

The European Space Agency's Rosetta mission provided a unique opportunity to study small bodies in the solar system.
Asteroid (2867) Steins was encountered en route to comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.

Purpose of the Study:

To characterize the physical properties and surface morphology of asteroid (2867) Steins.
To investigate the potential influence of the Yarkovsky-O'Keefe-Radzievskii-Paddack (YORP) effect on asteroid shape.

Main Methods:

High-resolution imaging using the OSIRIS (optical, spectroscopic, and infrared remote imaging system) cameras on board the Rosetta spacecraft.
Analysis of surface features, including craters and linear faults.
Crater counting to infer surface age and processes.

Main Results:

Steins is an oblate body with an effective spherical diameter of 5.3 km.
Surface exhibits linear faults and a prominent 2.1 km crater; no significant color variations were observed.
A notable absence of small craters suggests a relatively young surface or ongoing resurfacing.
Evidence indicates Steins is a rubble pile with a conical shape, likely modified by YORP spin-up.

Conclusions:

The OSIRIS images provide direct observational evidence for the YORP effect acting on a main-belt asteroid.
Steins' morphology and composition as a rubble pile are consistent with significant reshaping due to YORP-induced spin acceleration.