6 WebsiteCompass Feature Story Preparing for the Next Asteroid Impact According to NASA, “Asteroids, sometimes called minor planets, are rocky, airless remnants left over from the early formation of our solar system about 4.6 billion years ago.” Asteroids move through space unpredictably, meaning the potential exists for them to collide with Earth. While the risk of one large enough to cause significant damage doing so anytime soon is minimal, astronomers keep their eyes on the skies to help prepare for this eventuality. The DART Mission Scientists also work to find ways to mitigate the damage in the event of an asteroid collision. One method tested by NASA in 2021 was the use of a spacecraft to ram into an asteroid to divert its course away from Earth. This effort was called the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission. Because it did change the orbit of the target asteroid, it was considered a success. Now another major space agency, the ESA, seeks to study the aftermath. The Hera Mission The asteroid targeted by the DART mission is called Dimorphos and it orbits another asteroid, Didymos. On the Hera mission under development by the ESA, a probe along with two smaller CubeStats will study the pair by taking detailed measurements of the outcome of the DART mission. This information will increase the world’s understanding of asteroid properties, serve to inform future asteroid deflection missions, and help space agencies across the globe create useful planetary defense strategies. The Hera mission is planned to launch in October 2024, with the expectation that it will reach Dimorphos in late 2026 or early 2027. To learn more about this exciting mission, visit the Hera section of the ESA’s website at esa.int/Space_Safety/Hera. What Are the Chances of an Asteroid Hitting Earth? The level of damage that can be done by asteroids and other near-earth objects (NEOs) depends on their size. Many scientists believe that an enormous (six miles in diameter) asteroid 65 million years ago was the cause of major planetary disruption and the extinction of dinosaurs and other life. However, according to StarDate, the chance that an object large enough to cause regional or global damage will hit in any given year is only 1 in 300,000. Smaller objects known as meteorites land without doing much harm. And much smaller objects (around the size of a grain of sand) appear as shooting stars before they land on Earth. Given the potential damage, astronomers use telescopes to monitor the sky for NEOs. According to Space.com, astronomers have determined that Earth probably won’t be struck by a large (at least .6 mile in diameter) asteroid for at least 1,000 years. QUICK TIP: See a diagram of nearby asteroids at eyes.nasa. gov/apps/asteroids/#/home.
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