Planetary defense

It is not uncommon for asteroids to hit Earth. In 2013, the Chelyabinsk meteor exploded over Russia, injuring hundreds. Credit: Alex Alishevskikh, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0The Chelyabinsk asteroid impact in 2013 highlighted the threat of asteroids and spurred international cooperation on planetary defense, leading to initiatives like the International Asteroid Warning Network and missions to study and potentially deflect asteroids, such as ESA’s Hera and the proposed NEOMIR telescope.It’s a scenario made famous by the…

The day before asteroid 2008 OS7 made its close approach with Earth on Feb. 2, this series of images was captured by the powerful 230-foot (70-meter) Goldstone Solar System Radar antenna near Barstow, California. Credit: NASA/JPL-CaltechDuring the close approach of 2008 OS7 with Earth on February 2, the agency’s Deep Space Network planetary radar gathered the first detailed images of the stadium-size asteroid.On February 2, a large asteroid safely drifted past Earth at a distance of about 1.8 million miles (2.9 million…

In September 2022, a NASA spacecraft smashed into a tiny asteroid to nudge it off its orbital course. The mission was a success in testing an asteroid deflection method that may come in handy one day, but rather than leaving behind an impact crater, the orbital collision changed the shape of the target asteroid altogether, revealing its fungible composition. Dave Bautista Opens Up About His Relationship With Denis VilleneuveA team of researchers simulated the impact of NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test, or DART, to…

After months of frustration, NASA finally got the Bennu asteroid sample container open in January, revealing the large amounts of asteroid scooped up by the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft. Now, a top member of the mission says the distant hunk of space rock may be a planetesimal—a planet’s building block—that once belonged to an ocean world.'More People Need to Know About This History': A Black Astronaut Speaks About Race and SpaceDante Lauretta, a planetary scientist at the University of Arizona and principal investigator on the…

Asteroid 99942 Apophis is fast approaching our home planet for an uncomfortably close encounter in 2029. In order to prepare for the rare event, NASA is calling for ideas for low cost missions to rendezvous with Apophis, but the space agency already has a pair of asteroid probes ready to take on the task.This is the Coolest Galaxy S24 AI Feature That Few Are Talking AboutNASA is hosting a workshop on Wednesday, February 7 “on innovative approaches to conduct missions during the Earth flyby of the asteroid Apophis in…

A stadium-sized asteroid, designated 2008 OS7, will make its closest approach to Earth today. It will pass by at a distance of approximately 1,770,000 miles, a proximity considered remarkably close by astronomical standards. (Artist’s concept.) Credit: SciTechDaily.comIn an event stirring both excitement and a heightened sense of cosmic awareness among astronomers and the public alike, a stadium-sized asteroid, known as 2008 OS7, will make a close approach to Earth today, February 2, 2024. This asteroid, recognized for…

Veteran asteroid hunter Sárneczky’s discovery of an incoming asteroid led to a coordinated global response, culminating in the successful observation of the asteroid 2024 BX1’s impact near Berlin. This event underscores the progress in space monitoring technology and the value of international collaboration. Credit: SciTechDaily.comOn January 20, 2024, astronomer Krisztián Sárneczky detected an asteroid on an imminent collision course with Earth.Just hours later, it struck our planet’s atmosphere 50 km west of Berlin,…

The Scout system’s prediction of asteroid 2024 BX1’s impact over Germany highlights the effectiveness of NASA’s planetary defense capabilities. Detected just 95 minutes before entering Earth’s atmosphere, the asteroid harmlessly disintegrated, demonstrating the increasing precision of near-Earth object (NEO) tracking systems. (Artist’s concept.) Credit: SciTechDaily.comNASA’s Scout system accurately predicted the impact of asteroid 2024 BX1 over Germany, showcasing advancements in planetary defense by detecting and…

The aluminum canister containing bits of an ancient space rock has finally been opened, revealing the bulk of the asteroid Bennu sample in all its glory. Alex Winter on His Character in Destroy All Neighbors Earlier this month, NASA’s OSIRIS-REx team managed to crack open the TAGSAM (Touch-and-Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism) head after developing new tools to deal with two stuck fasteners that stood in the way of the asteroid sample. With the sampler head finally open, NASA revealed the remainder of the unseen…

After months of fidgeting with a canister that contained rocky samples from an ancient asteroid, NASA engineers have finally removed two stubborn fasteners that appeared to be preventing the space agency from collecting the full amount of Bennu’s debris.Would Peter Capaldi Return to Doctor Who?The OSIRIS-REx curation team managed to remove the TAGSAM (Touch-and-Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism) head, where the bulk of the asteroid sample is stored, NASA announced in a blog post on Thursday. The team was forced to develop…