A regular nonagon has 9 sides. To find the smallest degree measure for a regular nonagon to rotate onto itself, we can use the formula:
\[ \text{Rotation angle} = \frac{360°}{n} \]
where \( n \) is the number of sides. For a nonagon, \( n = 9 \).
Calculating this gives:
\[ \text{Rotation angle} = \frac{360°}{9} = 40° \]
Thus, the smallest degree measure for a regular nonagon to rotate onto itself is 40 degrees.