Our proposed efforts require the measurement of the petrographic, physical, and mechanical properties of a range of meteorite types at the centimeter-scale. These data will be used to: develop a…

The University of Puerto Rico at Humacao received a $687K research grant from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Shared Services Center to conduct laboratory investigations measuring petrographic, physical, and mechanical properties of meteorite samples at the centimeter scale. This work directly supports NASA's Planetary Defense initiatives under the Yearly Opportunities for Research in Planetary Defense (YORPD) program by developing a comprehensive understanding of bulk physical properties and strength behavior across meteorite types representative of Earth-impacting asteroids. The research aims to establish improved strength scale-dependence relationships for stony meteorites and generate enhanced coefficients for damage models that will enable more accurate quantitative predictions of atmospheric bolide disruption and asteroid deflection scenarios.

The grant, awarded January 1, 2022, with completion targeted for December 31, 2026, carries no set-aside designation and represents part of the university's broader contribution to federal research efforts. As a Hispanic-Serving Institution and 1890 Land Grant College, the University of Puerto Rico has leveraged over $29M in total federal grant funding across multiple agencies to support research and educational programs, with particular emphasis on STEM research infrastructure and advancing opportunities for underrepresented communities in science and engineering fields. The findings from this meteoritic materials research will directly enhance the nation's capability to understand and mitigate potential threats from near-Earth objects.

Our proposed efforts require the measurement of the petrographic, physical, and mechanical properties of a range of meteorite types at the centimeter-scale. These data will be used to: develop a more thorough understanding of the bulk physical properties and strength behavior of meteorites, and by extension the population of NEO parent bodies. Reveal how strength properties scale with size for a range of meteorite types that are representative of earth-impacting asteroids. Test the robustness of the strength scale-dependence derived for stony meteorites. Provide improved coefficients for commonly used damage models to enable more quantitative predictions of the disruption of atmospheric bolides, and large boulders on asteroids, and improved simulations of asteroid disruption and deflection. The proposed work encompasses the scope of the yearly opportunities for research in planetary defense (yorpd) program as IT includes laboratory investigations involving meteoritic materials that directly add to the understanding of the physical characteristics of the NEO population , and seeks to determine the parameters necessary to understand the characteristics of potentially hazardous objects that are important for implementation of mitigation actions against a detected impact threat.