INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
The second thing Lu urged NASA to do is develop a follow-up mission to DART
It was successful, he said, but DART was just an initial demonstration
Such a capability needs to be tested against a larger asteroid with different properties.An asteroid that might look a lot like
Apophis.About ApophisAstronomers using a telescope in Arizona found Apophis in 2004, and they were evidently fans of the television series
Stargate SG-1, in which a primary villain who threatens civilization on Earth is named Apophis.Because of its orbit, Apophis comes near
Earth about every eight years
It is fairly large, about 370 meters across
This is not big enough to wipe out civilization on Earth, but it would cause devastating consequences across a large region, imparting about
300 times as much impact force on the planet as the Tunguska event in 1908, over Siberia
Binzel, the MIT asteroid scientist, of this date.Astronomers estimate that an asteroid this large comes this close to Earth only about once
It also appears to be a stony, non-metallic type of asteroid known as an ordinary chondrite
This is the most common type of asteroid in the Solar System.
Areas of the planet that will be able to see Apophis at its
closest approach to Earth in April 2029.
Credit:
Rick
Binzel
Areas of the planet that will be able to see Apophis at its closest approach to Earth in
April 2029.
Credit:
Rick Binzel
All of this is rather convenient for
scientists hoping to understand more about potential asteroids that might pose a serious threat to the planet.The real cherry on top with
the forthcoming encounter is that Apophis will be perturbed by Earth's gravitational pull."Nature is handing us an incredibly rare
important information we could have if humanity ever faces an asteroid threat."In nearly seven decades of spaceflight, humans have only ever
probed the interior of three celestial bodies: the Earth, the Moon, and Mars
We're now being offered the opportunity to probe a fourth, right on our doorstep.But time is ticking.Chasing ApophisOn paper, at least, NASA
has a plan to rendezvous with Apophis
About three years ago, after a senior-level review, NASA extended the mission of the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft to rendezvous with Apophis.
