NASA is planning to test a new method or technology termed as HAMMER (Hypervelocity Asteroid Mitigation Mission for Emergency Response) to knock away a Near Earth Object (NEO) called Bennu.
The NEO in the equation is the one to which one of NASA's own probe is currently en-route, called the OSIRIS Rex sample return mission. The asteroid has a 1 in 2700 chance to hit earth in maybe, 2135.
HAMMER will probably have a nuclear payload. But this will depend upon the closeness of the asteroid when first alert is sounded. In the case of Bennu, we have already studied it to a great extent. The cost and realization time of the Hammer is not yet clear as it is at a conceptual stage now. But its good to know that we can put together some mission, if pushed to the brink, to avoid a large scale catastrophe like this which was unthinkable a century ago. Long live human ingenuity and endurance.
The NEO in the equation is the one to which one of NASA's own probe is currently en-route, called the OSIRIS Rex sample return mission. The asteroid has a 1 in 2700 chance to hit earth in maybe, 2135.
HAMMER will probably have a nuclear payload. But this will depend upon the closeness of the asteroid when first alert is sounded. In the case of Bennu, we have already studied it to a great extent. The cost and realization time of the Hammer is not yet clear as it is at a conceptual stage now. But its good to know that we can put together some mission, if pushed to the brink, to avoid a large scale catastrophe like this which was unthinkable a century ago. Long live human ingenuity and endurance.
