3 research outputs found
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Planetary Defense team project: READI (Roadmap for EArth Defense Initiatives)
Planetary Defense is a complex problem, not well understood by policy makers and the general public. The recent Chelyabinsk incident in Russia created temporary international attention but has failed to effectively stimulate public action. The lack of long-term attention to cosmic hazards has resulted in limited funding to defend our planet. Hence, it is hard to realistically address this challenge and achieve the high test and operational readiness needed for an effective Planetary Defense strategy. To address this problem, we have created a set of recommendations for the development of a Planetary Defense Program, for the purpose of contributing to the protection of Earth from asteroids and comets. The SSP15 READI Project focused on threats for which there is only a short-term warning, specifically a warning of two years or less from detection of the object to impact. We have provided recommendations in five areas of Planetary Defense including detection and tracking, deflection techniques, global collaboration, outreach and education, and evacuation and recovery. We have applied this set of recommendations in a narrative scenario to make our report more impactful and engaging. We contrast optimistic and pessimistic outcomes for a comet threat, differing from each other in terms of the level of readiness achieved during the years leading up to the discovery of the threat. In our optimistic scenario, the deflection system has achieved high test and operational readiness. The world’s governments have realized the importance of being prepared against cosmic hazards and put in place all of the necessary measures for a successful defense, leading to a positive deflection of the comet. In contrast, in the pessimistic scenario no preparation is done before the detection, and the comet strikes a heavily populated area releasing energy equivalent to 80 times the most powerful nuclear bomb ever detonated. The recommendations that we have identified in this report constitute a roadmap to avoid this horrible outcome, and we believe they should be taken seriously and swiftly implemented
Architecture for mitigating short-term warning cosmic threats: READI project
Earth is being constantly bombarded by a large variety of celestial bodies and has been since its formation 4.5 billion years ago. Among those bodies, mainly asteroids and comets, there are those that have the potential to create large scale destruction upon impact. The only extinction-level impact recorded to date was 65 million years ago, during the era of dinosaurs. The probability of another extinction-level, or even city-killer, impact may be negligible, but the consequences can be severe for the biosphere and for our species. Therefore it is highly imperative for us to be prepared for such a devastating impact in the near future, especially since humanity is at the threshold of wielding technologies that allow us to do so. Majority of scientists, engineers, and policymakers have focused on long-term strategies and warning periods for Earth orbit crossing Near-Earth Objects (NEOs), and have suggested methods and policies to tackle such problems. However, less attention has been paid to short warning period NEO threats. Such NEOs test current technological and international cooperation capabilities in protecting ourselves, and can create unpredictable devastation ranging from local to global scale. The most recent example is the Chelyabinsk incident in Russia. This event has provided a wakeup call for space agencies and governments around the world towards establishing a Planetary Defense Program.
The Roadmap for EArth Defense Initiative (READI) is a project by a team of international, intercultural, and interdisciplinary participants of the International Space University's Space Studies Program 2015 hosted by Ohio University, Athens, OH proposing a roadmap for space agencies, governments, and the general public to tackle NEOs with a short warning before impact.
Taking READI as a baseline, this paper presents a technical description of methodologies proposed for detection and impact mitigation of a medium-sized comet (up to 800m across) with a short-warning period of two years on a collision course with Earth. The hypothetical comet is on a highly-inclined orbit having a high probability for Earth impact after its perihelion. For detection, we propose a space-based infrared detection system consisting of two satellites located at the Earth-Moon Lagrange points L1 and L2 coupled with space observatories, like the James Webb telescope and the Centennial telescope. These telescopes are supported by ground-based telescopes, like the Arecibo and Green Bank telescope, in the search for NEOs. Upon detection, the comet is tracked constantly using space- and ground-based telescopes. The deflection system is two-pronged, firstly involving the use of a high energy Directed Energy Laser Terminals (DELT) placed at Sun-Earth Lagrange points L4 and L5 so as to initiate and increase the ablation rate of the comet and deviate it from its collision trajectory, and secondly by the Hypervelocity Comet Intercept Vehicle (HCIV), a space-borne system combining a kinetic impactor with a thermonuclear device. The policy and international collaboration aspects to implement these methods are also outlined in the paper. The techniques mentioned could also be applied to mitigate medium-to-large sized asteroids (up to 2km across)
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The International Space University Space Studies Program 2015 Planetary Defense Project
Asteroid and cometary impacts on planetary bodies are a natural, ongoing residual process that remind us of solar system genesis and evolution. Established spacefaring countries are currently working on plans to engage the world community of nations in dealing with this threat that has already caused recent havoc in the city of Chelyabinsk in Russia.
Defending our home planet against hazardous asteroids and comets is a very high priority issue because a high energy impact by larger objects has the potential to literally wipe out large population centers, decimate flora and fauna, upset our fragile climate and cause incalculable damage to critical physical infrastructure. So it is imperative that we prepare to defend our home planet, especially since new technologies allow us to do so. Space systems and allied technologies must play a key role in planetary defense. However the advanced systems and technologies to be employed will also require unprecedented cooperation and coordination among nations that can only be achieved using state of the art information and communication networks that are maturing right now. Global involvement and innovative and agile organizations, creative structures in policy making and governance are a prerequisite for agile action that is necessary for effective response.
Since asteroid or comet impact poses a global threat, like climate change, Planetary Defense aspires to all humanity. Technologies are maturing that can be commissioned to mitigate this threat. It is imperative that we find ways to integrate all peoples and nation states in this global endeavor. Nations and their space agencies are currently joining forces to examine the problem.
The International Space University (ISU) Space Studies Program (SSP) will hold its 28th summer session at the Ohio University, Athens, Ohio between June 08 and August 07, 2015. Over a hundred highly qualified graduate and post graduate students as well as young space professionals in leadership roles selected from a large pool of candidates from various space agencies around the globe will once again come together to study space exploration in a interdisciplinary, intercultural and international environment, with experts informing them on all aspects of space activity. They will explore the future of space activity and create innovative concepts for all the world to engage in and share. One of the team projects selected for this session is planetary defense.
This paper and presentation will report on the findings and recommendations of the 2015 ISU SSP Planetary Defense team project