Planning ahead to save Earth - moving big rocks out of Earth's pathway

We humans definitely don't want to end up like Dinosaurs did!

30-Mar-2020

Key points from article :

NASA and European Space Agency are working to deflect asteroids on collision course with Earth.

Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) is their demonstration mission planned to run in 2021.

DART will head up to the asteroid Didymos and its satellite Didymoon and try to deflect their course.

Didymos is 11 million km away and it's definitely not on a collision course with Earth.

Needs NASA's Evolutionary Xenon Thruster - Commercial ion engine (NEXT-C) to reach Didymos.

Using electric propulsion it will not need lots of thrusts to push off against Earth's gravity.

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Aerospace & defense leader that manufactures advanced propulsion and energetics systems

Planetary defense mechanism demonstration and test to be carried out in 2021

Chief Executive Officer and President of Aerojet Rocketdyne

An organisation dedicated to the exploration of space peacefully

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Electric propulsion engine composed of a thruster and a power-processing unit

Asteroid Impact