ASTEROID IMPACT & DEFLECTION ASSESSMENT (AIDA) MISSION

 

For: Mains

Topics covered: About Asteroid Impact & Deflection Assessment (AIDA) mission

---

 

News Flash

NASA, European Space Agency (ESA) and experts from other space agencies will be meeting in Rome to discuss the latest progress in asteroid deflection methods.

• They will also discuss a mission to deflect an asteroid in space and to prove the technique to be an effective method of defence against asteroid collision.
• A 3-day Asteroid Impact Deflection Assessment(AIDA) workshop will be conducted between 11 and 13 September in Rome.

 

Asteroid Impact & Deflection Assessment (AIDA) mission

• This mission aims to deflect the smaller part of a double asteroid dubbed Didymos.
• The project aims to deflect the orbit of one of the two Didymos asteroids between Earth and Mars, with an observer craft gauging the effect of the impact more effectively than ground-based observers could manage.
• For this purpose, a spacecraft will be made to crash into the asteroid and later, another spacecraft will reach the asteroid to study the crash site and gather necessary data on effects of the collision.

 

Didymos asteroid

The main body of Didymos asteroid is about 780 metres wide, with its moonlet about 160 metres in diameter, roughly the size of the Great Pyramid of Egypt.

 

Spacecraft to be used:

The two spacecraft:

• Double Asteroid Impact Test (DART) by NASA

DART will collide with the asteroid at speed of 6.6km per second in September 2022. An Italian satellite called Light Italian CubeSat for Imaging of Asteroids (LICIACube) will travel along with DART to monitor the impact.

 

• Hera by ESA

Hera will perform a “close-up survey of the post-impact asteroid, acquiring measurements such as the asteroid’s mass and detailed crater shape. Hera will be launched in October 2024 and will reach the asteroid after about two years.

 

Research on New Technologies

This mission will test a variety of important new technologies, including deep space CubeSats, inter-satellite links and autonomous image-based navigation techniques, while also providing us with valuable experience of low-gravity operations.

 

Source: Indian Express

 

READ MORE DAILY NEWS

• Indian Gold Reserve
• Reducing Food Loss and Waste: Report
• Global Liveability Ranking 2019
• Project REPLAN (Reducing Plastic from Nature)
• Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary (Mini Kaziranga)
• Rashtriya Poshan Maah

You are on the Best Online IAS preparation platform. You are learning under experts.

We are present on Facebook- Diligent IAS, LinkedIn- Diligent IAS, YouTube- Diligent IAS, Instagram- Diligent IAS. Get in touch with us