Status Report

High Precision Astrometry in Asteroid Mitigation – the NEOShield Perspective

By SpaceRef Editor
November 24, 2013
Filed under , ,
High Precision Astrometry in Asteroid Mitigation – the NEOShield Perspective

Among the currently known Near Earth Objects (NEOs), roughly 1400 are classified as being potentially hazardous asteroids. The recent Chelyabinsk event has shown that these objects can pose a real threat to mankind. We illustrate that high precision asteroid astrometry plays a vital role in determining potential impact risks, selecting targets for deflection demonstration missions and evaluating mitigation mission success. After a brief introduction to the NEOShield project, an international effort initiated by the European Commission to investigate aspects of NEO mitigation in a comprehensive fashion, we discuss current astrometric performances, requirements and possible issues with NEO risk assessment and deflection demonstration missions.

Siegfried Eggl, Anatoliy Ivantsov, Daniel Hestroffer, Davide Perna, David Bancelin, William Thuillot (Submitted on 16 Nov 2013)

Comments: accepted for publication in the SF2A 2013 proceedings

Subjects: Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics (astro-ph.IM); Earth and Planetary Astrophysics (astro-ph.EP)

Cite as: arXiv:1311.4067 [astro-ph.IM] (or arXiv:1311.4067v1 [astro-ph.IM] for this version) Submission history

From: Siegfried Eggl [v1] Sat, 16 Nov 2013 14:25:23 GMT (571kb) 

X

Among the currently known Near Earth Objects (NEOs), roughly 1400 are classified as being potentially hazardous asteroids. The recent Chelyabinsk event has shown that these objects can pose a real threat to mankind. We illustrate that high precision asteroid astrometry plays a vital role in determining potential impact risks, selecting targets for deflection demonstration missions and evaluating mitigation mission success. After a brief introduction to the NEOShield project, an international effort initiated by the European Commission to investigate aspects of NEO mitigation in a comprehensive fashion, we discuss current astrometric performances, requirements and possible issues with NEO risk assessment and deflection demonstration missions.
 
Siegfried Eggl, Anatoliy Ivantsov, Daniel Hestroffer, Davide Perna, David Bancelin, William Thuillot (Submitted on 16 Nov 2013)
 
Comments: accepted for publication in the SF2A 2013 proceedings
 
Subjects: Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics (astro-ph.IM); Earth and Planetary Astrophysics (astro-ph.EP)
 
Cite as: arXiv:1311.4067 [astro-ph.IM]
 
(or arXiv:1311.4067v1 [astro-ph.IM] for this version) Submission history
 
From: Siegfried Eggl [v1] Sat, 16 Nov 2013 14:25:23 GMT (571kb) http://arxiv.org/abs/1311.4067

SpaceRef staff editor.