"We flew the spacecraft closer to this object than any spacecraft has ever been flown before we did maneuvers that were centimeters per second, or millimeters per second, in order to get the spacecraft exactly where it needed to be and to change its orbit." "From a trajectory and navigation perspective, the team really did things that have never been done before in planetary exploration," said Mike Moreau, deputy project manager for OSIRIS-REx at NASA Goddard. Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center This narrated video presents the mission's complete trajectory during its time at Bennu. 3, 2018, it began wrapping Bennu in a complex web of observations. "We receive valuable feedback from emergency managers at these exercises about what information is critical for their decision making, and we take that into account when we exercise how we would provide information to FEMA about a predicted impact.Bennu is one of Earth's closest planetary neighbors-an asteroid roughly the height of a skyscraper, and since late 2018, the place that NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission has called home.
"These exercises are invaluable for those of us in the asteroid science community responsible for engaging with FEMA on this natural hazard," said NASA Planetary Defense Officer Lindley Johnson. The participants tackled the things that need to be done in case an asteroid strikes. space agency and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) conducted an asteroid impact exercise. The deflection caused by the impact will then be measured and characterized to fine-tune strategies for dealing with dangerous asteroids. The goal of this mission is to see how well the space agencies can strike an asteroid off-course through impact with a spacecraft. The mission will blast a kinetic impactor to the Didymos asteroid. NASA and the the European Space Agency will also launch the Asteroid Impact and Deflection Assessment Mission by the year 2020. Scientists also consider taking advantage of the Yarkovsky effect to change the orbit of a space rock by about 100 miles over a time period. The problem with this technology is that it may not be effective for large asteroids, which happen to pose the greatest threat if they collide with Earth. Several ideas are in place to protect the planet from space rocks that are on a collision course to Earth.Ī gravity tractor can use the force of gravity to slowly change the trajectory of an object in space. Once scientists detect NEOs, the objects' orbits are predicted and monitored to determine if they pose danger. The ability to identify objects from space that can potentially cause catastrophic events on Earth can make a big difference in mitigating or preventing damages. Scientists believe that early detection is crucial to keeping the planet safe from threats of near-Earth objects, or NEOs, such as asteroids. Preventing Or Minimizing The Impact Of Space Rock Collision Over 1,800 potentially hazardous objects have been discovered so far, but there are many more waiting to be found," Fitzsimmons said. "It is important to know that scientists and engineers have made great strides in detecting Near-Earth Asteroids and understanding the threat posed by them. Fitzsimmons noted the importance of Earth being prepared for an asteroid impact and the possibility that another dangerous space rock could take humanity by surprise.