Idea for space mission is like "Angry Birds" for asteroids

Artist's illustration of the proposed DART mission to alter the course of an asteroid via satellite impact / ESA

After a millennium of unchecked asteroids bombarding Earth, one proposed space mission is ready to turn the tables. A plan -- equal parts "Angry Birds" and nineties disaster movie "Armageddon" -- calls for a man-made satellite to collide with potentially dangerous asteroids to throw them off course and save our planet.

The European Space Agency (ESA) has put out a call for experimental ideas for its Asteroid Impact and Deflection mission (AIDA). An ESA press release breathlessly describes the scene:

A space rock several hundred meters across is heading towards our planet and the last-ditch attempt to avert a disaster -- an untested mission to deflect it -- fails. This fictional scene of films and novels could well be a reality one day. But what can space agencies do to ensure it works?

The answer seems to be a transatlantic partnership between space authorities in Europe and the U.S. The most promising proposal so far is from Johns Hopkins University. The school's Applied Physics Laboratory has come up with the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART).

The plan is to launch the DART at a pair of asteroids predicted to fly past Earth in 2022. Called Didymos, this binary asteroid, will safely pass our planet at a distance of 6.5 million miles. ESA officials consider it a perfect opportunity to test mankind's ability to deflect the course of potentially hazardous asteroids.

As the DART flies on a collision course with Didymos, ESA's Asteroid Impact Monitor (AIM) spacecraft will observe the asteroid before and after the crash to measure DART's impact.

"The advantage is that the spacecraft are simple and independent," Andy Cheng of Johns Hopkins, AIDA project leader for the U.S. side, said in a press release. "They can both complete their primary investigation without the other one."

But the proposed space mission is far from finalized. AIDA scientists are asking for suggestions on how to fine-tune the mission. If you're a budding astrophysicist -- or just a pro at "Angry Birds" -- offer your best experimental ideas to the ESA, who will open their Call of Experiment Ideas on February 1st.

[smartspace69]

I truley belive if we send DART to the astriod, we should
have a Large cable attached to it, then ejected it at the
object to capture it, with an impact that will penatrate it
deep, to taxi it towards the sun or Jupiter, then release
the object to look for another near earth object.As we all
know, in space we could move just about anything with a little
help of force. Then let the gravity of the sun burn it, so it will never return.

[geek_scientist05]

If NASA would considered your idea, the part about being re-directed to the Sun would be ridiculous. First, the Sun is not like a burner. If any objects as big or close to as a planet would be a bad reaction to the Sun thus making it explode this blistering heat wave across the solar system. Think about it. Maybe re-directing it towards Jupiter would be meaningless as well. If this year this asteroid passed in a greater distant from Earth, with gravity it may return back. The best thing for this situation its send the DART to re-directed it from any harms way and explode the asteroid making it just debris floating in space. Besides, there must be millions or probably billions of debris in space.

[rwsmith29456]

I predict that they will successfully deflect the asteroid into an orbit so that the next time the earth and the asteroid meet they will be on a collision course.

[sjc_1]

Land a rocket motor on it then push it away.

[kyleitterly88]

DART seems like an appropriate acronym for the project.

Said by: Kyle Itterly of Northampton, Massachusetts on 01/23/2013

[Chengisk]

I do have enormous confidence in NASA/ESA. And I hope they will not deflect the asteroid that is not aiming for us to turn our way. Cheers spaces scientists!

[jntlw]

Won't that just produce more debris in smaller sizes floating about menacing other vital satellites?

[Steve_McK]

Lol, no they aren't using nukes to blow it up or anything. The plan is to deflect it, not blow it up.

[prm777]

So much for using simulations and models based on principles of physics to determine the outcome, let's blow some stuff up! Come on, these guys know whether this will be a success or not based on the velocity, trajectory and mass of the asteroids they're targeting and the parameters of the satellite they're using -- they can model the effects with a high degree of accuracy. So, why spend millions/billions of dollars for a mach demonstration? Just to prove that it can be done, UNDER THE RIGHT CIRCUMSTANCES? E.g., a larger, denser asteroid with a more direct collision path with Earth may well be unstoppable, so this little demonstration, even if successful (which, again, they have probably already determined the outcome via simulation), proves very little.

[mecury69]

I've never heard of a scientific idea that was NOT put to the test. Testing is the most important part of scientific study.

What are you blabbering about?