PLANETARY DEFENCE –
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
News: The
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is planning to develop capabilities
in planetary defense, an area that involves detecting, tracking, and
potentially mitigating threats from near-Earth objects (NEOs) like asteroids.
- This
initiative aligns with global efforts to safeguard Earth from celestial
impacts that could have catastrophic consequences.
What’s in the news?
Planetary Defense
- Planetary
defense refers to the methods and strategies developed to detect, track,
and mitigate the potential threat posed by near-Earth objects (NEOs) such
as asteroids and comets that could impact Earth.
- The
primary goal is to prevent or minimize the damage that an impact could
cause to life, property, and the environment.
Detection and Tracking of NEOs
- Ground-Based
Observatories: Various observatories around the
world are dedicated to monitoring NEOs. The Pan-STARRS and Catalina Sky
Survey are among the most notable for their contributions to discovering
new asteroids.
- Space-Based
Observatories: NASA’s NEOWISE mission uses a
repurposed space telescope to detect and characterize NEOs in infrared
wavelengths. Future missions, such as the NEOMIR mission, aim to identify
asteroids hidden in the Sun's glare.
Mitigation Strategies
- Kinetic
Impact: This involves sending a spacecraft
to collide with an asteroid to change its trajectory. NASA's Double
Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission successfully demonstrated this
technique by impacting the asteroid Dimorphos in 2022.
- Nuclear
Deflection: Another proposed method involves
using a nuclear explosion near the asteroid to alter its course. This is
considered a last-resort measure due to the complexities and risks
involved.
- Gravity
Tractor: This concept involves a spacecraft
hovering near an asteroid, using its gravitational pull to slowly alter
the asteroid's trajectory over time.
Asteroid Apophis