Latest news with #Near-Earth
DW
21-05-2025
- Science
- DW
What is China's space mission Tianwen-2? – DW – 05/21/2025
China hopes Tianwen-2 will match the success of its US and Japanese space rivals by exploring an unusual Near-Earth Asteroid and returning rock samples. China's Tianwen-2 mission will mark the country's first attempt to survey and sample an asteroid and put it in league with the US, Russia and Japan. Tianwen-2 will investigate a nearby asteroid called Kamo'oalewa, which orbits the sun at a distance relatively close to Earth. The entire mission could last a decade. If it successfully retrieves and returns samples from the asteroid, it will continue to explore the solar system, with a second trip to the main asteroid belt. When will Tianwen-2 launch? Tianwen-2 will launch at the end of May 2025 on a Long March 3B rocket from the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre in Sichuan province, according to a statement published by the China National Space Administration (CNSA). CNSA has yet to confirm an exact launch date. Where is Tianwen-2 going? The first target for Tianwen-2 will be the asteroid Kamo'oalewa. If successful, it will mark the first time China has collected samples from an 'interplanetary' body in the solar system. China has, however, previously returned samples from the moon. Interplanetary bodies — literally natural space objects between planets, including asteroids, comets and meteors — are common near Earth and have been explored for years by other space agencies, such as NASA, Roscosmos, and JAXA. After Kamo'oalewa, Tianwen-2's next destination is the comet 311P/PANSTARRS. Comet 311P/PANSTARRS in the solar system's main "asteroid belt" between Mars and Jupiter. The probe won't gather samples from the comet, but will instead orbit and analyze its composition. What is Kamo'oalewa? Kamo'oalewa is an unusual asteroid, estimated to be between 40-100 meters (131–328 feet) in diameter. It's described as a 'quasi-satellite' because, while it orbits the sun , its current location near Earth means it also loops around our planet in the process. Astronomers think Kamo'oalewa may be a boulder that was blasted off the surface of our moon, following an impact with another space object. It will take about two-and-a-half years for Tianwen-2 to complete its initial mission to Kamo'oalewa. OSIRIS REx spacecraft releases asteroid sample capsule To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video How will it retrieve samples? Tianwen-2 will attempt to sample Kamo'oalewa with a "touch-and-go" technique that was successfully used by the OSIRIS-Rex and Hayabusa2 missions. This method uses an extended robotic arm to scrape an asteroid's surface as the probe flies past. It will also attempt to land on the surface using a second 'anchor and attach' technique. This would see four robotic arms extend and drill into the surface to retrieve material. As with other space sample missions, the samples would then be dropped back to Earth before the probe continues towards its secondary mission in the asteroid belt. The Tianwen-1 mission was sent to explore Mars. Image: CNSA/Newscom/picture alliance What does Tianwen mean? Tianwen is the name of a work by Chinese poet Qu Yuan, who died around 278 BCE. It translates as "Heavenly questions." This series of missions began with the launch of Tianwen-1 in July 2020, which sent an explorer to Mars. After landing on the surface in May 2021, the rover was put into hibernation mode but failed to restart as planned at the end of 2022. Tianwen-3 is the next scheduled mission, due to begin in 2028. That will be China's first attempt to return samples from the surface of Mars. Edited by: Zulfikar Abbany
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
After the Arecibo collapse in 2020, a lone NASA radar dish in the Mojave desert stepped up as a leading asteroid hunter
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Rising out of the remote Mojave Desert, NASA's Goldstone Solar System Radar is a solitary satellite dish that communicates with spacecraft. In its downtime, the facility's antennas can track objects in space as they pass by Earth, improving measurements of their orbits that help scientists calculate if a particular target has a chance of colliding with our planet. By the end of 2024, Goldstone had detected 55 Near-Earth Asteroids, setting a new annual record for the facility. In 1968, scientists used Goldstone to make the first radar asteroid observations. In the decades that followed, researchers leaned more heavily on the Arecibo Observatory, a larger dish in Puerto Rico that could make more detailed studies. "While Arecibo was in operation, about 2.5 times as many binary system satellites had been found there relative to Goldstone," asteroid hunter and planetary scientist Lance Benner, of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, told by email. But the unexpected 2020 collapse of Arecibo left Goldstone as the new heavy hitter. According to Benner, the number of binaries identified by Goldstone is comparable to those found at Arecibo. Benner, who uses Goldstone to observe known asteroids, updated the planetary science community on the status of steroid radar observations made to Goldstone in March, at the 56th annual Lunar and Planetary Sciences Conference in Houston, Texas. Asteroids are leftover bits from the dawn of the solar system, and have the potential to reveal information about those formative years. Of the 37,255 known near-Earth asteroids, only 1127 have been observed by radar, and 512 of those were observed by Goldstone. Since the fall of Arecibo, 199 NEAs have been detected at Goldstone; 154 of them were detected for the first time by radar. Of those, 112 were classified as potentially hazardous asteroids. While asteroids are more easily discovered with optical telescopes, radar images shine when it comes to details. Radar can help astronomers study the physical properties of the asteroids, including their shapes, sizes, rotation states, surface features like roughness, and radar reflectivity. "Some images obtained with radar […] rival the resolutions of spacecraft flyby missions," Benner said. All of this can help scientists better understand the structure and composition of the asteroids as they buzz by Earth. Radar can also help to refine the asteroid's path through space, which can help researchers determine how likely it is to collide with Earth in the future. And radar shines when it comes to companions. Because it provides the equivalent of an up-close look at the space rocks, it can determine when asteroids are in binary pairs or even triple systems. Of the 75 binary and triple asteroid systems observed by radar since 2000, 70% were discovered using radar. From 2021 to 2024, Goldstone's DSS-14 radar antenna observed 19 binary systems, identifying 14 of these for the first time. Goldstone even helped revise some of Arecibo's findings; the system 1998 ST27 was formerly classified as a binary from previous observations, but has now been reclassified as a triple thanks to Goldstone. Observations of these NEAs are generally scheduled well in advance, though there are occasionally opportunities to study a newfound asteroid on short notice. In some months, Benner said, there might be observations anywhere from 10 to 15 days, while in other months hunting asteroids is regulated to only a handful of days. The process has become more flexible in recent years. In the past, would-be-observers had to obtain permission from more then 20 government agencies or military units who control restricted airspace surrounding the Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex. "Obtaining approval could take several days, and in some cases, the asteroids had moved too far from Earth by the time we got approval to take full advantage of the observing opportunities," Benner said. That requirement is no longer necessary. Observers no longer need to get approval to transmit toward specific parts of the sky and at specific times. "This gives us the ability to change targets on the fly," Benner said. That, in turn, allows for a rising number of asteroids to be studied. "There are now so many asteroids known — and being discovered, sometimes more than 200 per month — that there are usually multiple asteroids within our range of detection every day, so flexibility with observing is really important," Benner said. The greater flexibility has led to an increase in asteroid observations from the Mojave. The 55 NEAs detected at Goldstone in 2024 represents a 1.5x increase relative to the average from 2012 to 2018, and a five-fold increase compared to 15 years ago. "Overall, there has been a significant uptick in time allocated at Goldstone for radar observations," as priority for radar observations is now considered comparable to space missions, Benner said. RELATED STORIES: — 2 asteroids just zipped by Earth, and NASA caught footage of the action — NASA radar images show stadium-size asteroid tumbling by Earth during flyby (photos) — Radar could help scientists find potentially threatening asteroids. Here's how Goldstone saw first light in December 1958, immediately after NASA was created and just in time to support the agency's Pioneer 3 mission to the moon. The Pioneer Station, an 85-foot (26-meter) polar mounted antenna, was the first to be constructed at Goldstone, and went on to support multiple spacecraft as well as the Apollo missions. It was officially shut down in 1981, and in 1985 was declared a National Historic Monument due to its role as the first deep space antenna in the Deep Space Network. The first observation of an asteroid using a radar telescope was made of asteroid (1566) Icarus in 1968 at Goldstone and later the then-functioning Haystack Observatory. At the time, Icarus was a subject of extreme interest as it made its closest approach to Earth. Goldstone antennas have also been used to study other objects in the solar system, such as the moon. Goldstone was the first of three instruments that today make up NASA's Deep Space Network. Along with dishes in Canberra, Australia and Madrid, Spain, the network communicates with ongoing missions, including continuing to keep in contact with the Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 spacecraft, the most distant human-made objects in the solar system. More than 40 missions have depended on the network, and it is expected to support twice that number in the coming years.
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
2024 YR4: What to know about the asteroid that could hit Earth in the future
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. - Scientists across the world are focusing on an asteroid that has a slim chance of hitting Earth. Here's what to know about the asteroid, as well as the role one Arizona observatory is playing in observing the space rock in question. Per NASA's website, the asteroid is named 2024 YR4. The asteroid is described as a near-Earth asteroid, defined as "an asteroid in an orbit that brings it into Earth's region of the Solar System." According to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Center for Near Earth Object Studies (CNEOS), 2024 YR4 was first discovered on December 27, 2024 by a NASA-funded telescope in Chile. What CNEOS Is Saying "The object had a close approach with Earth on December 25, which is why it became bright enough to be detected in the asteroid surveys," read a portion of CNEOS' website. Figures from CNEOS show that from August 1980 to Feb. 6, 2025, scientists have discovered a total of 37,593 Near-Earth Asteroids. Big picture view CNEOS' website states the asteroid is "most likely in the range of 40 to 90 meters (130 to 300 feet) in size." Officials say the estimate is based on measurements of the asteroid's brightness. "The size cannot be further constrained without thermal infrared observations, radar observations, or imagery from a spacecraft that could closely approach the asteroid," CNEOS' website states. On Feb. 7, NASA officials said the chance of the asteroid impacting Earth stands at 2.3%. Previously, on Jan. 29, officials with the International Asteroid Warning Network (IAWN) said that the impact probability was 1.3% on Dec. 22, 2032. What the IAWN is Saying "While there is large uncertainty in whether the asteroid will impact Earth, if an impact occurs it will be on this date," read the document. Officials with the International Asteroid Warning Network (IAWN) state there is an "impact risk corridor" for 2024 YR4. Per the document, the impact risk corridor for 2024 YR4 "extends across the eastern Pacific Ocean, northern South America, the Atlantic Ocean, Africa, the Arabian Sea, and South Asia." Should the asteroid hit, the document states that "blast damage could occur as far as 50 km (~31.07 mi) from the impact site." Once again, it should be noted that NASA officials, on Feb. 7, said the chance of 2024 YR4 impacting Earth stands at 2.3%. What An Astronomer Is Saying "[It's] not gonna cause extinction events," said Nick Moskovitz with Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff. "It's not 'the end of the dinosaurs-like' impact, but it would have significant regional consequences." Per the IAWN, "future observations will reduce the uncertainty in the 2024 YR4's trajectory and impact probability." By the numbers The asteroid, according to people with IAWN, will be observable through early April, after which it will become too faint to be observed from Earth until June 2028. What's next NASA officials say with more observations of the asteroid's orbit, the impact probability will become better known. "It is possible that asteroid 2024 YR4 will be ruled out as an impact hazard, as has happened with many other objects that have previously appeared on NASA's asteroid risk list, maintained by NASA's Center for Near-Earth Object Studies," read NASA's website. Local perspective Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff is one of only three or four telescopes in the world that is currently monitoring the asteroid's path. "Our hope is that as we continue to monitor we see that the trajectory in 2032 off of the Earth and the probability would go to zero," said Moskovitz. Moskovitz said the equipment needed to see the asteroid has changed. "Right now, we're sort of in this transition where the telescopes like the telescope 4 m telescope 1617 feet across those are only telescopes in the world that can see it," said Moskovitz. Once again, it should be noted that as of Feb. 7, 2025, NASA officials put the probability of 2024 YR4 striking Earth at 2.3%. Even if the odds fail humanity, scientists do have a certain level of experience with defending the planet against asteroid strikes. Dig deeper Moskovitz and researchers from University of Arizona and Northern Arizona University were integral to a mission called "Double Asteroid Redirection Test" (DART). According to the mission's website, the DART mission is NASA's demonstration of a technology that aims to adjust the speed and path of an asteroid by hitting it with a spacecraft that is described as a "kinetic impactor." The mission involved sending a spacecraft to an asteroid named Dimorphos. The spacecraft hit Dimorphos in September 2022, and officials said based on subsequent measurements of the asteroid, the nearly head-on collision shortened the time it took for Dimosphos to orbit a larger asteroid named Didymos by 33 minutes. Space missions take years of planning, but moskovitz believes that can be streamlined for planetary defense. "We could simply copy DART," said Moskovitz. "We've done it before, down to the last screw. This would not take 10 years to do."
Yahoo
31-01-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Scientists monitoring football-pitch sized asteroid that could hit Earth in the future
The European Space Agency (ESA) has revealed it is closely monitoring an asteroid the size of a football pitch that could hit the Earth in a little over seven years. The asteroid, called 2024 YR4, is estimated to have a one in 83 chance of a direct hit, causing "severe damage to a local region", according to ESA. The space rock, which measures 100m by 40m, is currently at a distance of around 27 million miles and moving away from the planet. But its path will cross the Earth's orbit on 22 December 2032. Most likely there would be a near miss, with the asteroid passing within a few thousand miles. The Space Mission Planning Advisory Group, which is chaired by ESA, will discuss the latest observations of the asteroid at a meeting in Vienna next week. If the impact risk is confirmed it will make official recommendations to the United Nations and work may begin on options for a "spacecraft-based response to the potential hazard", the agency said in a statement. Dr Simeon Barber, a space scientist at the Open University, told Sky News: "We shouldn't be overly worried - at least not just yet. "That's because our early detection systems quite often overestimate the likelihood of an impact with Earth. "In the early stages, we can't determine its trajectory very accurately, and so the probability of impact has to take into account this uncertainty. "It's likely that as our technologies for detecting Earth-bound objects improve, we may see an increasing number of alerts such as this. "It's important that we find the right balance between treating the threat seriously, but not over-reacting in these early stages of discovery when the trajectory is still not well-defined." Read more: 'Protect our home planet' Just over two years ago NASA smashed a spacecraft into the 160m-wide asteroid Dimorphos and successfully changed its orbit. At the time NASA administrator Bill Nelson said: "All of us have a responsibility to protect our home planet. After all, it's the only one we have." Near-Earth Asteroid 2024 YR4 was first spotted by a telescope in Chile. Since the start of January, astronomers have been tracking the asteroid to gauge its size and movement. The asteroid is expected to fade from view within the next few months as it moves further from the Earth. Increasingly powerful telescopes will be trained on the rock to gather as much data as possible on its trajectory. Once it disappears it won't come back into view until 2028. How much damage would such an impact do? The Earth takes a direct hit from an asteroid of that size only once every few thousand years. In 1908, a slightly smaller asteroid - thought to have measured 60m across - exploded over Siberia. It flattened 80 million trees over an area of 830 square miles.
Yahoo
30-01-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
An asteroid is heading for Earth - but you'll have to wait a while to find out if we're gonna get hit
A massive asteroid could slam into Earth in the next seven years. Known as Asteroid 2024 YR4, the nearly 200-foot large space rock could hit just before Christmas of 2032. Discovered last Christmas by Arizona's Catalina Sky Survey, the asteroid is currently the only Near-Earth Object that has been placed at a level three on Torino impact hazard scale, giving it the highest probability of impact of any other large objects being tracked by NASA and other space agencies. The scale categorizes potential Earth impact events. This marks 'one of the highest probabilities of an impact from a significantly sized rock ever,' David Rankin, from the Catalina Sky Survey, wrote on BlueSky. Although, more observation is needed to understand how close 2024 YR4 could come to Earth. 'Recently-discovered asteroid 2024 YR4 may make a very close approach to Earth in eight years,' said Tony Dunn, an amateur astronomer who shared a visualization of the asteroid on X (formerly Twitter). 'It is thought to be 40-100 meters wide. Uncertainty is still high and more observations are needed to confirm this.' Dunn's animation of the asteroid shows it skimming Earth at an altitude of 301 miles, with its trajectory altered by the planet's gravitational pull. This is less than half the distance of most low-Earth orbit satellites, suggesting that it could even be pulled into Earth's atmosphere at that altitude. The 'risk corridor' for impact stretches from South America, across central Africa, and up towards India and South-East Asia. But, this could shift as new data emerges. Just how devastating the impact would potentially be depends not only on the size of the asteroid, but also its composition. By comparison, the asteroid that ended the age of the dinosaur is estimated to be between six and nine miles wide. However, astronomers say the odds of a collision are around 1-in-83. 'We are not worried at all, because of this 99 percent chance it will miss," Paul Chodas, director of NASA's Center for Near Earth Object Studies, told The Associated Press. 'But it deserves attention.' 2024 YR4 is currently hurdling through space some 27 million miles from Earth, traveling at a velocity of 13.5 km/s, according to NASA's Eyes on Asteroid.
