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Protecting Earth from asteroid impact with a tethered diversion
by Staff Writers
Washington DC (SPX) Jun 19, 2020

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Our planet exists within the vicinity of thousands of Near-Earth Objects (NEOs), some of which - ?Potentially Hazardous Asteroids (PHAs)? - ?carry the risk of impacting Earth causing major damage to infrastructure and loss of life.

Methods to mitigate such a collision are highly desirable. A new paper published in EPJ Special Topics, authored by Flaviane Venditti, Planetary Radar Department, Arecibo Observatory, University of Central Florida, Arecibo, suggests the use of a tether assisted system to prevent PHA impact.

The method suggested by Venditti and her colleagues involves using the tether - ?previously suggested for other uses, such as space/lunar elevators and tethered satellite system? - ?to connect the threatening PHA to another, smaller, asteroid, thus changing the centre of mass of the two and hopefully raising the PHA to a safer orbit.

Each potential PHA impact mitigation method carries with it, its own set of benefits and risks. A considerable risk associated with 'high-impact' mitigation techniques, such as the detonation of explosives at the surface of the PHA, is fragmentation.

This makes methods which gradually alter the orbit of a PHA, and thus prevent the break up of such an object, look like a less risky prospect. The tether system carries with it little risk of causing fragmentation and smaller pieces of the PHA falling to earth, something which could itself cause widespread damage.

Using the asteroid Bennu as a test subject, the team used computer simulations to calculate the dynamics of such a tether system for a variety of different initial conditions, concluding that it would be feasible for use as a planetary defence system. The team also suggest that the system could be of use in both the study and potential mining of NEOs and other asteroids.

One of the likely drawbacks of such a method is the fact that it could require a longer lead time than many high impact methods which quickly deliver kinetic energy to a PHA to knock it out of orbit. Thus, the continued cataloguing of such objects is needed if such a method is ever to be viable.

Research Report: "Dynamics of tethered asteroid systems to support planetary defence"


Related Links
Springer
Asteroid and Comet Mission News, Science and Technology


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The simulations show that the asteroid hit Earth at an angle of about 60 degrees, which maximised the amount of climate-changing gases thrust into the upper atmosphere. Such a strike likely unleashed billions of tonnes of sulphur, blocking the sun and triggering the nuclear winter that killed the dinosaurs and 75 per cent of life on Earth 66 million years ago. Drawn from a combination of 3D numerical impact simulations and geophysical data from the site of the impact, the new models are the ... read more

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