. | . |
NASA DART mission may cause first ever human-induced meteor shower by Staff Writers Washington DC (Sputnik) May 14, 2020
In September 2022, a NASA spacecraft, launched as part of the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission, is scheduled to hit a space rock with the equivalent energy of three tons of trinitrotoluene (TNT). According to a report by the New York Times, the 1,100-pound DART spacecraft, which is expected to be launched in 2021, will target Didymos, two asteroids that travel around the sun. The plan is for DART to slam into Didymoon, the smaller of the two asteroids. The purpose of the mission is to determine whether humanity could potentially divert asteroids into other orbits, preventing them from striking Earth. "DART is a planetary defense-driven test of technologies for preventing an impact of Earth by a hazardous asteroid. DART will be the first demonstration of the kinetic impactor technique to change the motion of an asteroid in space," NASA explains on its website. "The DART spacecraft will achieve the kinetic impact deflection by deliberately crashing itself into the moonlet at a speed of approximately 6.6 km/s, with the aid of an onboard camera (named DRACO) and sophisticated autonomous navigation software. The collision will change the speed of the moonlet in its orbit around the main body by a fraction of one percent, but this will change the orbital period of the moonlet by several minutes - enough to be observed and measured using telescopes on Earth," NASA adds. According to a paper published in the Planetary Science Journal in late March by Paul Wiegert, an astronomy professor at the University of Western Ontario, the impact on Didymoon could generate the first meteor shower caused by human activities in space. Studying the shower could also help researchers evaluate the composition of near-Earth asteroids. However, the study also predicted that "very little DART-ejected material" will reach Earth, and "most of that only after thousands of years," although some material "ejected at the highest velocities could be delivered to Earth-crossing trajectories almost immediately, though at very low fluxes." In early April, researchers at the US government-funded Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory conducted tests to simulate how best to prevent celestial bodies from hitting Earth. The study found that simulations are sensitive to "selected strain models, strength models, and material parameters," and that by using appropriate selections for those models in addition to "well-constrained material parameters," the simulations closely mirror experimental results. Source: RIA Novosti
Hayabusa2's touchdown on Ryugu reveals its surface in stunning detail Washington DC (SPX) May 08, 2020 High-resolution images and video were taken by the Japanese space agency's Hayabusa2 spacecraft as it briefly landed to collect samples from Ryugu - a nearby asteroid that orbits mostly between Earth and Mars - allowing researchers to get an up-close look at its rocky surface, according to a new report. During the touchdown Hayabusa2 obtained a sample of the asteroid, which it will bring back to Earth in December 2020. The detailed new observations of Ryugu's surface during the touchdown operation ... read more
|
|
The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us. |