Output details

Optimal impact strategies for asteroid deflection

Significance of output:

The threat of a potentially hazardous Near Earth Object hitting the Earth has been recognised as key problem by NASA, ESA and the British National Space Centre who drew out some policy recommendations for future programs on planetary defence. This article presents a new analytical approach to compute the achievable deviation of a potential hazardous asteroid by a kinetic impactor spacecraft. The study, funded by the EPSRC, contributed to place the research on asteroid deflection, performed at the University of Glasgow, as a leading reference, provoking the interest of the Planetary Defence community (Dr. Bill Ailor: william.h.ailor@aero.org) and the media.