AIDA mission to validate crucial asteroid deflection technology

AIDA mission to validate crucial asteroid deflection technology:

ESA’s Asteroid Impact Mission is joined by two triple-unit CubeSats to observe the impact of the NASA-led Demonstration of Autonomous Rendezvous Technology (DART) probe with the secondary Didymos asteroid, planned for late 2022. Image & Caption Credit: ESA / ScienceOffice.org

While there is currently no imminent asteroid threat and none of the known near-Earth objects (NEOs) is on collision course with our planet, humanity should be prepared for the worst. With that thought in mind, NASA and ESA are developing the Asteroid Impact and Deflection Assessment (AIDA) mission; its main goal is to demonstrate the kinetic impact technique that could change the motion of a potentially hazardous asteroid.

The AIDA mission will consist of two spacecraft sent to the binary asteroid called 65803 Didymos. Built by ESA, the Asteroid Impact Mission (AIM) will be launched in October 2020 and is expected to be injected into the orbit of the larger asteroid. NASA’s contribution to this endeavor, the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART), will be launched into space nearly one year later and slated to crash into the smaller asteroid in October 2022. AIM will be just in place to observe the impact and study its aftermath.

“This mission, in partnership with ESA and NASA, will allow us to validate the technology of the kinetic impactor and also to improve our understanding of threatening asteroids,” Patrick Michel, AIM/AIDA investigator at the Côte d’Azur Observatory (OCA), told Astrowatch.net.

LEFT: Artist’s rendering of ESA’s desk-sized Asteroid Impact Mission (AIM). Image Credit: ESA – Science Office. RIGHT: Artist’s rendering of NASA’s Demonstration of Autonomous Rendezvous Technology (DART) spacecraft. Image Credit: NASA

Therefore, the mission would be essential for the most one of the most important asteroid deflection technology – the kinetic impactor. In particular, AIDA will demonstrate the feasibility of this technique based on the data gathered by observing DART’s crash into Didymos’ moon with a velocity of about six km/s. AIM will orbit the asteroid in order to perform detailed before-and-after observations of the structure of the space rock itself, as well as its orbit, to thoroughly characterize the kinetic impact and the consequences.

“To make sure a technique is valid and that we know how to use it, we need a test. Otherwise, we can talk, but it will remain on paper and we cannot guarantee anything. And this is why we still push for the AIDA space mission to happen,” Michel said.

He noted that the success of AIDA will have many implications for planetary defense, science, and asteroid mining because the knowledge needed for these three aims is essentially the same. According to Michel, it will prove that asteroids are the only natural risk that we can predict and prevent by making the necessary steps.

“AIDA, if done, will accomplish the step that will allow us to tell the future generations: we did our duty, we have now a validated tool to prevent the risk! And it will also come with science and technology returns, which contributes to [inspiring] young generations,” Michel noted.

The AIM spacecraft is still in its conceptual phase. When it comes to DART, the probe was recently moved by NASA from concept development to preliminary design phase.



The post AIDA mission to validate crucial asteroid deflection technology appeared first on SpaceFlight Insider.

Giant asteroid crashed into Mars billions of years ago, study suggests

Giant asteroid crashed into Mars billions of years ago, study suggests:

Is it possible that past asteroid impacts could have caused the two distinct geological regions that we now see on the face of Mars? Image Credit: NASA

The complex geology of Mars and the origin of its two small irregular moons has mystified planetary scientists for some time. A new study, published in June in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, reveals that the Red Planet had suffered a giant asteroid collision nearly four-and-a-half billion years ago which could account for some of Mars’ geological oddities.

Mars is known for havings two geologically distinct hemispheres. The planet has smooth lowlands in the north and cratered, high-elevation surface in the south. The origin of this dichotomy has baffled geologists for decades.

A global false-color topographic view of Mars from the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) experiment. The spatial resolution is about 15 kilometers at the equator and less at higher latitudes, with a vertical accuracy of less than 5 meters. The figure illustrates topographic features associated with resurfacing of the northern hemisphere lowlands in the vicinity of the Utopia impact basin (at the near-center of the image in blue). Image Credit: MOLA Science Team

Scientists have suggested that erosion, plate tectonics, or ancient oceans could have carved these two different landscapes; however, the most plausible hypothesis is thought to be that a giant celestial body that smashed into Mars was the cause of the planet’s geological dichotomy.

A new research conducted by Stephen Mojzsis of the University of Colorado Boulder and Ramon Brasser of the Tokyo Institute of Technology in Japan, adds new evidence supporting the “single impact hypothesis”.

The researchers have analyzed Martian meteorites and found an overabundance of rare metals such as platinum, osmium, and iridium. The results indicate that most likely a huge asteroid impact enriched Mars’ mantle with these noble metals.

“It is well within the realm of possibility that the Martian hemispherical dichotomy is the result of this giant impact,” the authors wrote in the paper.

The simulations carried out by Mojzsis and Brasser show that a giant collision might have taken place some 4.43 billion years ago, during first 130 million years of Martian history. According to the calculations, the impactor would have been at least 745 miles (1,200 kilometers) in diameter in order to cause the geological dichotomy that we see today on Mars.

The study also reveals that the debris ejected after the impact could have formed Phobos and Deimos – the two oddly shaped moons of Mars. The researchers suggest that the impact generated a ring of material around the Red Planet that later merged into the two satellites. This could partially explain why Phobos and Deimos are made of a mix of native and non-Martian material.

“An impact of this magnitude would also be expected to eject a substantial amount of material into orbit around Mars, which could then be the source material that eventually formed its satellites,” the paper reads.

In concluding remarks, the scientists noted that the geological dichotomy on Mars could be one of the oldest geophysical features of the Martian crust.

Mojzsis and Brasser plan more studies of Martian meteorites that will once again test the “single impact hypothesis”. They hope that further research focused on different isotopic systems in the oldest components of the meteorites will bring more promising results and further confirm the studied hypothesis.



The post Giant asteroid crashed into Mars billions of years ago, study suggests appeared first on SpaceFlight Insider.

Discovery Channel Large Asteroid Impact Simulation YouTube

Discovery Channel Large Asteroid Impact Simulation YouTube




Discovery Channel Large Asteroid Impact Simulation

● Discovery Channel - Large Asteroid Impact Simulation (2008).

Earth was born as a result of repeated asteroid collisions, the moon was created by a single giant impact event. Then, Earth's size attracted huge meteorites, which slammed into it, causing super-high-temperature rock vapour to cover the entire surface and evaporate all ocean water. The earliest life-forms survived such infernal events by escaping deep into the ground, miraculously emerging again and again. The Earth has gone through innumerable catastrophic events, and life has survived by acquiring new abilities to live through each crisis. Humans are part of the grand history of life's evolution, which has been closely intertwined with repeated cataclysmic events.

Learn what would happen if an asteroid hit the Earth with this detailed "Large Asteroid Impact Simulation".
An asteroid with a diameter of 500 km. Destination: The Pacific Ocean. The impact peels the 10 km crust off the surface. The shockwave travels at hypersonic speeds. Debris is blasted across into low Earth orbit, and returns to destroy the surface of the Earth. The firestorm encircles the Earth, vaporizing all life in its way. Within one day, the surface of the Earth is uninhabitable. The evidence shows that this has happened at least six times in Earth's history.
Music of Pink Floyd "The Great Gig in the Sky" (1973).

0:12 An asteroid with a diameter of 500 km.
0:47 Destination: The Pacific Ocean.
1:17 The impact peels the 10 km crust off the surface.
1:28 The shockwave travels at hypersonic speeds.
1:53 Debris is blasted across into low Earth orbit,
2:11 and returns to destroy the surface of the Earth.
2:55 The firestorm encircles the Earth,
3:05 vaporizing all life in its way.
3:34 Within one day, the surface of the Earth is uninhabitable.
4:19 The evidence shows that this has happened at least six times in Earth's history.


● Discovery Channel - Simulazione di impatto con un asteroide di grandi dimensioni (2008).

La Terra è nata a seguito di ripetute collisioni di asteroidi, la luna è stata creata da un singolo impatto gigantesco. Poi, le dimensioni della Terra hanno attratto enormi meteoriti, che si sono schiantate su di essa, causando vapori di roccia ad altissima temperatura che hanno ricoperto l'intera superficie e fatto evaporare tutta l'acqua dell'oceano. Le prime forme di vita sono sopravvissute a tali eventi infernali fuggendo in profondità nel terreno, emergendo miracolosamente ancora e ancora. La Terra è passata attraverso innumerevoli eventi catastrofici, e la vita è sopravvissuta attraverso l'acquisizione di nuove capacità per vivere attraverso ogni crisi. Gli esseri umani sono parte della grande storia dell'evoluzione della vita, che è stata strettamente intrecciata con ripetuti eventi catastrofici.

Apprendi che cosa accadrebbe se un asteroide colpisse la Terra, con questa dettagliata "Simulazione di impatto con un asteroide di grandi dimensioni".
Un asteroide con un diametro di 500 km. Destinazione: l'Oceano Pacifico. L'impatto spella i 10 km di crosta via dalla superficie. L'onda d'urto viaggia a velocità ipersonica. I detriti vengono scagliati tutti in orbita terrestre bassa, e ritornano per distruggere la superficie della Terra. La tempesta di fuoco circonda la Terra, vaporizzando tutta la vita in questo modo. Entro un giorno, la superficie della Terra è inabitabile. Le prove dimostrano che questo è avvenuto almeno sei volte nella storia della Terra.
Musica dei Pink Floyd "The Great Gig in the Sky" (1973).

0:12 Un asteroide con un diametro di 500 km.
0:47 Destinazione: l'Oceano Pacifico.
1:17 L'impatto spella i 10 km di crosta via dalla superficie.
1:28 L'onda d'urto viaggia a velocità ipersonica.
1:53 I detriti vengono scagliati tutti in orbita terrestre bassa,
2:11 e ritornano per distruggere la superficie della Terra.
2:55 La tempesta di fuoco circonda la Terra,
3:05 vaporizzando tutta la vita in questo modo.
3:34 Entro un giorno, la superficie della Terra è inabitabile.
4:19 Le prove dimostrano che questo è avvenuto almeno sei volte nella storia della Terra.

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Dawn Longs for Vesta’s Gravitational Pull

Dawn Longs for Vesta’s Gravitational Pull: "

By Marc Rayman



NASA’s Dawn spacecraft



NASA’s Dawn spacecraft is less than two months away from getting into orbit around its first target, the giant asteroid Vesta. Each month, Marc Rayman, Dawn’s chief engineer, shares an update on the mission’s progress.

Artist’s concept of the Dawn spacecraft using its ion propulsion system during the approach to Vesta. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Dear Dependawnble Readers,


Dawn remains healthy and on course as it continues to approach Vesta. Thrusting with its ion propulsion system, as it has for most of its interplanetary journey so far, the spacecraft is gradually matching its solar orbit to that of the protoplanet just ahead.


As these two residents of the asteroid belt, one very new and one quite ancient, travel around the sun, they draw ever closer. Vesta follows its own familiar path, repeating it over and over, just as Earth and many other solar system bodies do. Dawn has been taking a spiral route, climbing away from the sun atop a blue-green pillar of xenon ions. With an accumulated total in excess of two and a half years of ion thrusting, providing an effective change in velocity of more than 6.5 kilometers per second (14,500 mph), the probe is close to the end of the first leg of its interplanetary trek. On July 16, Vesta’s gravity will capture the ship as it smoothly transitions from spiraling around the sun to spiraling around Vesta, aiming for survey orbit in August. For several reasons, the date for the beginning of the intensive observations there has not yet been set exactly.


Astronomers have estimated Vesta’s mass, principally by measuring how it occasionally perturbs the orbits of some of its neighbors in the asteroid belt and even the orbit of Mars, but this method yields only an approximate value. Because the mass is not well known, there is some uncertainty in the precise time that Dawn will become gravitationally bound to the colossal asteroid. As we have seen before, entry into orbit is quite unlike the highly suspenseful and stressful event of missions that rely on conventional chemical propulsion. Dawn simply will be thrusting, just as it has for 70 percent of its time in space. Orbit entry will be much like a typical day of quiet cruise. That Vesta will take hold at some point will matter only to the many Dawnophiles throughout the cosmos following the mission. The ship will continue to sail along a gently curving arc to survey orbit.

› Continue reading Marc Rayman’s May 27, 2011 Dawn Journal

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