NASA and the European Space Agency are joining forces with other institutions to launch a program that will test their ability to pull off a major task: Prevent asteroids from hitting Earth.
The idea behind the program is to determine whether kinetic energy can be used to divert an asteroid from colliding with Earth. Or, more simply put, NASA and the ESA are trying to see if it is possible to bump an asteroid off course
The two-part mission is split between NASA and the ESA. For the first part of the program, the ESA's Asteroid Impact Mission will send a small lander to Didymoon to measure its internal structure and density through radar waves.
For the second part of the program, NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test spacecraft, steered by ESA's lander, will slam into the center of Didymoon. Since Didymoon orbits the much larger Didymos, scientists hope that the impact will shift both asteroids.
Asteroids have been crashing into the Earth for billions of years and have been disastrous in the past, like when an asteroid ushered the extinction of the dinosaurs
Note
Asteroids are Minor Planets especially those of the Inner Solar System
The large majority of known asteroids orbit in the asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, or are co-orbital with Jupiter
However, other orbital families exist with significant populations, including the near Earth asteriods Individual asteroids are classified by their characteristic spectra, with the majority falling into three main groups - C-type;S-type and M-type
Only one asteroid,4 Vesta, which has a relatively reflective surface, is normally visible to the naked eye, and this only in very dark skies when it is favorably positioned
Rarely, small asteroids passing close to Earth may be visible to the naked eye for a short time
The idea behind the program is to determine whether kinetic energy can be used to divert an asteroid from colliding with Earth. Or, more simply put, NASA and the ESA are trying to see if it is possible to bump an asteroid off course
The two-part mission is split between NASA and the ESA. For the first part of the program, the ESA's Asteroid Impact Mission will send a small lander to Didymoon to measure its internal structure and density through radar waves.
For the second part of the program, NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test spacecraft, steered by ESA's lander, will slam into the center of Didymoon. Since Didymoon orbits the much larger Didymos, scientists hope that the impact will shift both asteroids.
Asteroids have been crashing into the Earth for billions of years and have been disastrous in the past, like when an asteroid ushered the extinction of the dinosaurs
Note
Asteroids are Minor Planets especially those of the Inner Solar System
The large majority of known asteroids orbit in the asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, or are co-orbital with Jupiter
However, other orbital families exist with significant populations, including the near Earth asteriods Individual asteroids are classified by their characteristic spectra, with the majority falling into three main groups - C-type;S-type and M-type
Only one asteroid,4 Vesta, which has a relatively reflective surface, is normally visible to the naked eye, and this only in very dark skies when it is favorably positioned
Rarely, small asteroids passing close to Earth may be visible to the naked eye for a short time
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