2002 AT4

is a near-Earth object and potentially hazardous asteroid of the Amor group, approximately in diameter. It has an eccentric orbit that brings it sometimes close to Earth's orbit, and sometimes halfway between Mars and Jupiter. It is a dark D-type asteroid which means that it may be reddish in color.
Due to its relatively low transfer cost of ~5.5 km/s, was under consideration 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, it is no longer under consideration.
orbits the Sun at a distance of 1.0–2.7 AU once every 2 years and 7 months. Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.45 and an inclination of 1° with respect to the ecliptic.
T. M. Ribeiro et al. proposed a conceptual sample return mission named CARINA to. The goal of CARINA would be to return for the first time a sample from a D-type asteroid for an in-depth characterisation in Earth-based laboratories. Among other things, CARINA aims to: explore the relationship between dark asteroids and comets; investigate the role of dark asteroids in the origin of life; improve our understanding of early Solar System evolution.