Final answer:
An object orbiting the sun between Mars and Jupiter is likely an asteroid if its orbital period is between 3.3 to 6 years and it is not spherical but 'potato-shaped' or highly elongated, which indicates it is in the asteroid belt. Additional features like a cylindrical shape, as observed in the interstellar asteroid discovered in 2017, also suggest it's an asteroid.
Step-by-step explanation:
To determine if the object orbiting the sun between Mars and Jupiter is an asteroid, several features can be considered. Primarily, asteroids are found mainly in the asteroid belt, which contains all asteroids with orbital periods between 3.3 to 6 years. If the object's orbit is within this range and lies near the plane in which Earth and other planets circle, this would suggest it is indeed an asteroid. Additionally, asteroids have a variety of shapes but are often not spherical due to their smaller size, which lacks sufficient gravity to pull them into a round shape. They can be "potato-shaped," exhibiting irregularities; however, if the object was found to have a highly elongated or cylindrical shape, this would also indicate it is an asteroid, as seen with the first interstellar asteroid discovered in 2017.
When designing a spacecraft to match course with an asteroid, one would likely include instruments for imaging, such as cameras to capture visual morphology; spectrometers to analyze the composition; and perhaps instruments to measure the asteroid's mass and gravity field. The purpose of these instruments would be to learn about the asteroid's physical properties, composition, and potentially its internal structure to gain insights into the early solar system's history and the composition of the material that formed the planets.