Credit: Alex Alishevskikh, accredited under CC BY-SA 2.0 The Chelyabinsk asteroid effect in 2013 highlighted the threat of asteroids and stimulated worldwide cooperation on planetary defense, leading to efforts like the International Asteroid Warning Network and objectives to study and possibly deflect asteroids, such as ESAs Hera and the proposed NEOMIR telescope.Its a scenario made popular by the 1998 film Armageddon: an asteroid is found on a crash course with Earth, and experts scramble to plan a space mission to rendezvous with the asteroid and alleviate the threat. And it commemorates its tenth birthday this week.When the Chelyabinsk asteroid struck the skies over Russias Ural area in February 2013, it highlighted mankinds fragility.With a mass of around 12,000 tonnes and a size of 19 m, the Chelyabinsk asteroid was the second-largest asteroid to strike Earth in the last century. Credit: Sandia LabsBy an unusual twist of fate, the Chelyabinsk asteroid struck on the same day that the United Nations Committee on Peaceful Uses of Outer Space Working Group on Near-Earth Objects fulfilled in Vienna to finalize a suggestion to the UN on how to protect Earth from possible asteroid impacts.At this meeting, Earths professionals laid the structures for the development of two worldwide bodies that would make it possible for a really international reaction to the danger of an asteroid strike: the International Asteroid Warning Network (IAWN) and the Space Mission Planning Advisory Group (SMPAG; pronounced same page). What would occur if ESA and area companies around the world discovered an asteroid likely to impact our planet?As a member of the International Asteroid Warning Network, ESA and other agencies work together to generate warnings in case of a potential asteroid impact, passing validated realities to nationwide emergency action agencies.Depending on the size of the asteroid, the opportunity of it striking Earth and how much advance caution is supplied, a range of choices are available.In space, options consist of reconnaisance missions to gather more infomation and deflection objectives to push the asteroid onto a various– and safe– path.Preparations on the ground involve possible evacuations and catastrophe reaction management.Credit: ESAKeeping Humankind on the Same PageSMPAG and IAWN are now commemorating their tenth anniversaries, with the first SMPAG conference taking location on 6-7 February 2014 and the first IAWN conference taking place in January of the same year.IAWN is collaborated by NASA: it is a worldwide cooperation of asteroid observers, modelers, and analysts. It will come closer to our world than the ring of telecoms and weather forecasting satellites in geostationary orbit.In the worlds first test of asteroid deflection, Hera will perform a comprehensive post-impact survey of the target asteroid, Dimorphos– the orbiting Moonlet in a binary asteroid system known as Didymos.
Credit: Alex Alishevskikh, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 The Chelyabinsk asteroid effect in 2013 highlighted the threat of asteroids and stimulated worldwide cooperation on planetary defense, leading to initiatives like the International Asteroid Warning Network and objectives to study and potentially deflect asteroids, such as ESAs Hera and the proposed NEOMIR telescope.Its a circumstance made famous by the 1998 film Armageddon: an asteroid is found on a collision course with Earth, and experts rush to prepare a space objective to rendezvous with the asteroid and reduce the danger. Credit: Sandia LabsBy a strange twist of fate, the Chelyabinsk asteroid struck on the very same day that the United Nations Committee on Peaceful Uses of Outer Space Working Group on Near-Earth Objects fulfilled in Vienna to complete a recommendation to the UN on how to protect Earth from possible asteroid impacts.At this meeting, Earths professionals laid the structures for the formation of two global bodies that would enable a truly international response to the risk of an asteroid strike: the International Asteroid Warning Network (IAWN) and the Space Mission Planning Advisory Group (SMPAG; pronounced same page). What would take place if ESA and space companies around the world found an asteroid likely to affect our planet?As a member of the International Asteroid Warning Network, ESA and other companies work together to create cautions in case of a prospective asteroid effect, passing confirmed facts to national emergency reaction agencies.Depending on the size of the asteroid, the possibility of it striking Earth and how much advance warning is offered, a variety of options are available.In area, options consist of reconnaisance missions to collect more infomation and deflection missions to push the asteroid onto a different– and safe– path.Preparations on the ground involve possible evacuations and disaster action management.Credit: ESAKeeping Humankind on the Same PageSMPAG and IAWN are now celebrating their tenth anniversaries, with the first SMPAG meeting taking location on 6-7 February 2014 and the very first IAWN meeting taking location in January of the very same year.IAWN is collaborated by NASA: it is an around the world partnership of asteroid modelers, observers, and analysts.