Near-Earth Objects (NEOs) give us unique opportunity to study the smallest of asteroids when they pass next the Earth. This allows us to measure their composition, relate it to their original orbits and to compare it to the compositional distribution of meteorites that hit the Earth’s surface. Measuring their spin rate allow us to learn the effects of the Earth’s tidal force on their weak structure. This serves as an essential input for NASA’s and ESA’s plans to launch space missions that will land and even retrieve samples from NEOs.

The Mission Accessible Near-Earth Objects Survey (MANOS) aims to observe, measure and catalog ~300 sub-km NEOs. Observations include spectroscopic observations in the visible and the near infrared regime, and time series photometric observations using a fleet of telescopes at both the northern and southern hemispheres (e.g., Gemini north and south, Kitt-Peak, SOAR and others). MANOS is a rapid response survey: we observe the asteroids during the 1-2 weeks after they are discovered before they are too faint to be observed.

I will present the methodology of the survey, the pressing questions it will answer and preliminary results.