Astronomers To Learn If They Can Change The Trajectory Of An Asteroid
In case you don’t know what we’re talking about, asteroids are medium to large rocky bodies from the inner Solar System, which are orbiting the sun. In case a collision takes place, a thing known as impact events, the asteroids have a significant role in shaping planets. NASA is known for regularly taking a look at the space, watching NEOs (Near-Earth Objects), and PHOs (Potentially Hazardous Objects). They want to see if they represent a threat to Earth. Meanwhile, they are also planning for the worst that could happen.
Marc Scheper has given a heads up to the European Space Agency’s HERA program, which is a mission that bounds to test if it is possible to deflect an asteroid that’s heading for our planet. Last year, he stated that: “Asteroids are quite an interesting topic as they can be a precious opportunity, just think of the resources and utilization that some companies are thinking about. But they can be a threat.”
Space Agencies Struggle To Find A Solution To Fight Against Possible Asteroid Impact Events
If an asteroid, more prominent than we’ve seen before, collides with Earth, something dangerous might actually happen to our planet and humankind. Right now, they are working on a new study to investigate the possibility of changing the direction of an asteroid, should it come towards Earth. Mr. Scheper has revealed that ESA made the team with NASA to launch a satellite to investigate asteroids.
They are looking for a binary asteroid – and asteroid and a smaller one that’s rotating around it. If they are hitting the smaller one, they can modify its path around the big one, and measure its effects. Then they can see what they can make out of this info on Earth. We need to know how an asteroid works and how it behaves before it hits Earth because we could modify its path, avoiding a collision.
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