It was discovered on 9 June 2010 by scientists working with data from the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer spacecraft.
[3] It orbits the Sun in the outer asteroid belt at a distance of 2.7–3.5 AU once every 5 years and 7 months (2,033 days).
[6] Like most asteroids from the outer main-belt, Rosaparks has a low albedo (see below), indicating a carbonaceous composition.
[2] According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's WISE telescope, Rosaparks measures 3.512 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.099.
In the final scene of the episode "Rosa", after witnessing Rosa Parks's arrest for refusing to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama passenger bus, the Thirteenth Doctor takes the TARDIS to the asteroid belt and shows her companions the object that has been named in Parks's honour.