Connecting meteorites that have fallen onto Earth to their respective parent bodies in the Solar System is an important goal of planetary sciences. Chemical compositions that construct mineral structures are analogous to fingerprints: each are unique and reveal themselves through absorption features in the near-infrared.
The Reddy Research Group completes observational campaigns where groups of asteroid families are observed with the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF). As near-infrared observations are obtained, various data reduction protocols are followed to reveal spectral information such as silicate rock compositions and mineralogical compositions.
Asteroid spectral features are compared to laboratory spectral calibrations taken from various meteorite samples. Spectral features are compared to determine mineral relationships and abundances. Meteorites and asteroids can be linked through the quantities of specific minerals and chemical abundances.