# # Program information file # PROGRAM_ID 2022A034 PROGRAM_TITLE Characterization of NASA Janus mission target 1996 FG3 PROGRAM_INV1 Lucille Le Corre PROGRAM_INV2 Vishnu Reddy PROGRAM_INV3 Daniel Scheeres PROGRAM_INV4 PROGRAM_INV5 PROGRAM_SCICAT near-Earth objects PROGRAM_ABSTRACT_BEG Binary near-Earth asteroid [NEA] 1996 FG3 is one of the two targets of NASA's SIMPLEX Janus mission that will observe this object during a flyby in 2026. This NEA has been observed by several authors in the past. These observations show different spectral slopes suggesting either surface heterogeneity or observational geometry effects [phase angle]. The proposed observational campaign aims to resolve this conundrum by obtaining a consistent data set of near-IR spectra of this NEA during its flyby of the Earth in Spring 2022. The proposal is requesting five half nights [6 hours each] to characterize 1996 FG3. The six-hour time window for each run is based on the ~3.6-hour rotation period of the target. The five half nights request is based on the phase angle coverage needed over a 20-day window. The phase angle coverage of legacy data is 8-58 deg over five nights and the proposed observations will be able to cover a phase angle range of 12-57 deg during the 2022 flyby. Thus, the proposed observations would overlap with the phase angle range of the legacy data and also sample at the same interval. PROGRAM_ABSTRACT_END