Asteroids are just one of the many science fiction threats that may threaten our planet’s entrance. We can probably safely assume that alien invasions, zombies and killer robots are still in the realm of fiction (at least for now), but we know that asteroids exist and we know that they have hit our planet once. in the past. With enough time, an asteroid, comet, or other asteroid will come along, and it’s important that we be ready when it does.
To that end, organizations around the world are working hard to develop planetary protection strategies (not to be confused with planetary protection, which focuses on preventing interplanetary biological contamination). On the other hand, planetary defense focuses on protecting the Earth against impacts by identifying adversaries, identifying them, and planning for future impact.
NASA and other space agencies are preparing for an asteroid impact
NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office (PDCO) was established in 2016 and uses telescopes on the ground and in orbit to search the skies for potential threats to Earth’s environment. So far, everything we have found keeps its place, but if a dangerous influence were found, the PDCO will be responsible for coordinating the response.
Once a new object is identified, NASA’s Center for Near Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) determines its orbit and measures nearby processes or effects. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) also maintains a list of the five nearest asteroids at any given time. Usually, they are relatively small (the size of a car or a house) and they surround us or affect the atmosphere without real effects. However, if a very large asteroid is found to be on a collision course with Earth, what can we do about it?
How to save Earth from an asteroid
On November 24, 2021, NASA launched its Double Asteroid Redirection Experiment (DART) on a long trip to the double asteroids Didymos and Dimorphos. The smaller asteroid, Dimorphos, is known as a moonlet because it orbits the larger Didymos. The goal was to touch Dimorphos at high speed and measure the change in its orbit.
About 10 months after launch, DART impacted Dimorphos at 14,000 kilometers per hour, carrying the equivalent of 3 tons of TNT. The impact changed the shape of Dimorphos and shortened the length of its orbit by about 33 minutes. It was the first successful real world test of the asteroid deflection system. Given enough lead time, we can nudge the orbit of a dangerous asteroid out of an impact path with Earth.
Other options include using gravity to slowly change the asteroid’s path. It would work by parking a spacecraft near an asteroid for a long time. The gravitational pull of the spacecraft would subtly pull the asteroid and change its course.
We can also use nuclear weapons like they did on them Deep Influence (streaming now on Peacock) with one important change. In the movies, astronauts tend to land on an asteroid, which pierces its surface, then delivers a payload that explodes underground. Deep Influence he correctly suggested that such a strategy might break the asteroid into two or more large pieces, without moving those pieces out of the way. Instead, today’s scientists suggest that it would be better to detonate bombs on the surface of the asteroid. An explosion near the asteroid, rather than inside it, would vaporize part of the surface, create a temporary atmosphere on one side, and create to be away from the place where the explosion occurred.
An asteroid impact may be the only science fiction threat to humanity, but it’s also the only scenario we have the equipment to deal with.
Catch Deep Impact (a planetary defense suit) streaming now on Peacock.
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