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Abstract
An asteroid family is a collection of asteroids that have very similar proper orbital elements. These clusters are thought to be the products of an impact disruptive collision of an asteroid. This idea is used to test two recently proposed asteroid family taxonomies (Zappala et al. 1990 and Williams 1989) with the use of asteroid spectra. These asteroid family classification systems were tested by seeing if the asteroid family members would be geologically compatible if they were reassembled into one planetoid. The Zappala taxonomy was more accurate in classifying these "genetic" asteroid families than the Williams taxonomy. By recreating the parent bodies of the asteroid families it is possible to reconstruct the recent geologic history of the asteroid belt. The Zappala dependent model shows fluctuations in the solar radial distribution of asteroid types through time while the Williams dependent model shows a nearly static solar radial distribution of asteroid belts through time. Infrared observations of the Eos asteroid family revealed a minimum of 10 new K asteroids indicating that the parent body of the Eos family was composed of CO/CV chondrite like material instead of an igneous differentiated planetesimal. Crater count ages of 951 Gaspra indicate that it was the product of impact disruptive asteroid family forming processes. A multi-spectral synergistic mineralogic study of 951 Gaspra utilizing data from the SSI and NIMS Galileo instruments indicate mineralogic heterogeneities on its surface. This data set also indicates that the olivine/orthopyroxene abundances are significantly higher than ordinary chondrite abundances. This multi-instrument study provides a spatially resolved spectral data set of an asteroid family member for comparison with Earth-based spectral data sets.