(10302) 1989 ML

Discovery[1]
Discovered by	E. F. Helin, J. Alu
Discovery date	29 June 1989
Designations
Alternative designations	MPO 244277, 1992 WA
Minor planet category	Amor NEO
Orbital characteristics[2]
Epoch 24 October 2005 (JD 2453667.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc	9733 days (26.65 yr)
Aphelion	1.44623 AU (216.353 Gm)
Perihelion	1.09872 AU (164.366 Gm)
Semi-major axis	1.27247 AU (190.359 Gm)
Eccentricity	0.13655
Orbital period (sidereal)	1.44 yr (524.29 d)
Average orbital speed	26.28 km/s
Mean anomaly	125.941°
Mean motion	0° 41m 11.911s / day
Inclination	4.37779°
Longitude of ascending node	104.409°
Argument of perihelion	183.283°
Earth MOID	0.0827215 AU (12.37496 Gm)
Physical characteristics
Dimensions	0.6 km
Synodic rotation period	19 h (0.79 d)
Spectral type	X
Absolute magnitude (H)	19.3

(10302) 1989 ML is an as yet unnamed near-Earth asteroid. It is approximately 0.6 km in diameter. An Amor asteroid, it orbits between Earth and Mars. It is an X-type asteroid, so its surface composition is yet unknown. It was discovered by Eleanor F. Helin and Jeff T. Alu at Palomar Observatory on 29 June 1989.

Targeting by spacecraft

The delta-v ('effort') required to reach 1989 ML from a low-Earth orbit is only 4.8 km/s, ranking fifth (as of March 2007) amongst the near-Earth asteroids with well-established orbits. 1989 ML is thus particularly 'easy' (and 'cheap') to reach by spacecraft.

1989 ML was considered as a target of the Japanese spacecraft Hayabusa (then Muses-C) but had to be given up due to technical reasons. It was also considered by the European Space Agency as a candidate target for the Don Quijote mission to study the effects of impacting a spacecraft into an asteroid; however, they too changed to other targets.^[3]