All articles tagged with #asteroid defense
UK lawmakers discovered there is no international protocol for responding to asteroid threats, with limited readiness among global agencies to quickly implement deflection missions even with years of warning. While groups like SMPAG exist to address policy questions, decision-making processes remain unclear and challenging to coordinate internationally, highlighting the need for established procedures and testing.
A NASA-led exercise revealed that Earth is inadequately prepared to defend against a potential asteroid strike, even with 14 years' notice. The study highlighted unclear decision-making processes, insufficient readiness to launch space missions, and challenges in global collaboration. NASA recommends establishing clear protocols and conducting regular exercises to improve planetary defense readiness.
NASA's Dart mission collided with the asteroid Dimorphos, reshaping it and altering its orbit around its larger companion, Didymus. The collision, equivalent to an ant hitting two buses, caused the asteroid to lose roughly 20 million kilograms of material, slowing down its orbit. This mission provides valuable insights into defending Earth against potential asteroid impacts, with implications for future asteroid defense missions and the possibility of mining asteroids for precious metals.
The European Space Agency's (ESA) Hera mission, aimed at studying the Dimorphos and Didymos asteroids for planetary defense, has been fully assembled in Germany. The spacecraft, consisting of a Core Module and a Propulsion Module, was carefully mated together over a three-hour period. The modules were aligned with precision and will undergo rigorous testing in the Netherlands to ensure readiness for space. Hera's mission includes a close-up survey of the crater left by NASA's DART mission on Dimorphos and the measurement of Dimorphos' mass and composition, as well as that of the larger Didymos asteroid.
The US National Science and Technology Council has updated the country's plan for dealing with potentially dangerous asteroids. The plan includes six goals for federal agencies aimed at strengthening our ability to detect, track and develop technologies to deflect hazardous near-Earth objects (NEOs), and increasing international preparedness for such events. The report cites the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, which estimates that there are nearly 1,000 NEOs larger than 0.6 miles (1 kilometer) wide out there. The six action plan goals listed in the updated action plan include enhanced detection, more accurate tracking and characterization, and technological advancements in NEO deflection.
NASA's Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program has granted funding to six early-stage space tech ideas, including a proposed low-frequency radio telescope array called FarView that would be built on the far side of the moon using lunar regolith, and a project called PI – Planetary Defense that seeks to defend the planet from asteroids by pulverizing them into small pieces that would burn up in Earth's atmosphere. The projects challenge convention and are intended to revolutionize spaceflight and exploration.