During the experiment, it is planned to test the technology of a "kinetic impact" on an asteroid
NEW YORK, November 5. /tass/. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) The United States is preparing to test several systems to protect the Earth from asteroids. This was announced by the head of the NASA profile department, Lindley Johnson, on Thursday at a briefing on the upcoming launch of the DART probe (Double Asteroid Redirection Test).
According to him, during the experiment it is planned to test the technology of a "kinetic impact" on an asteroid. "The purpose of this test is to confirm the maturity of this system, which should be ready for use in the event of a real asteroid threat to Earth," Johnson said. According to him, NASA experts are developing other means of protecting the planet.
"Taking into account all factors, <...> including the trajectory, the speed of movement of these [space] bodies and the timing of their detection, we know that we need a whole set of tools, and not just kinetic impact technology, which may not be suitable for all possible options," he continued. "After testing the kinetic impact system, we want to test technologies such as the gravity tractor."
"A gravity tractor is a spaceship that will hover on the side of an asteroid. Its natural gravity, acting on the principle of a rope, will slowly pull the asteroid away from the trajectory of movement threatening the Earth," the head of the department explained. In addition, Johnson noted, NASA specialists are considering the possibility of using a focused ion beam to impact an asteroid. "There are a lot of great ideas that we will explore after the DART trials. Fortunately, asteroids don't collide with Earth very often, so we have time to study these technologies," he concluded.
At the end of November, NASA plans to launch the DART probe to the Didymus-Dimorph binary asteroid, which does not pose a threat to Earth. In September - October 2022, the probe is expected to collide with the smaller of them - a Dimorph (diameter 160 m), as a result of which it should change the orbit around the larger Didymus (diameter 780 m). The purpose of the experiment is to work out a technique for changing the trajectory of really dangerous asteroids for the planet.
In 2016, NASA formed the Office for the coordination of measures to protect the Earth from asteroids. Within the framework of this program, data on the size, orbits and chemical composition of potentially dangerous asteroids and comets are collected within 48 million km from Earth, and the likely consequences of their collision with the Earth are analyzed.
