PLANETARY PROTECTION

TAG: GS-3: SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

CONTEXT: ISRO Chairman stressed the importance of international cooperation in developing protection systems against asteroids during a workshop on planetary protection.

EXPLANATION:

About the planetary protection:

Planetary Protection is the practice of protecting solar system bodies from contamination by Earth life and protecting Earth from possible life forms that may be returned from other solar system bodies. NASA’s Office of Planetary Protection promotes the responsible exploration of the solar system by implementing and developing efforts that protect the science, explored environments and Earth.

• Discovered in 2004, it is a near-Earth object (NEO) and was identified as one of the most hazardous asteroids that could impact Earth.
  • There are billions of comets and asteroids in our solar system. The vast majority never approach Earth. When a comet or asteroid’s orbit brings it close to Earth, it is classified NEO.
• However, a radar observation campaign in March 2021, combined with precise orbit analysis, allowed astronomers to conclude that there is no risk of Apophis impacting our planet for at least a century.

What is Impact Avoidance:

• An impact by a sufficiently large asteroid or other NEOs would cause massive tsunamis or multiple firestorms, depending on its impact location. A collision 66 million years ago between the Earth and an object approximately 10 km/ 6 miles wide is thought to have
  • Produced the Chicxulub crater (buried underneath the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico), and Triggered the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event that is believed to have caused the extinction of all non-avian dinosaurs.

• While the chances of a major collision are low in the near term, it is a near-certainty that one will happen eventually unless defensive measures are taken. In 2022, NASA spacecraft Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART)impacted Dimorphous, reducing the minor-planet moon’s orbital period by 32 minutes.
  • This mission constitutes the first successful attempt at asteroid deflection.
• In 2025, China’s CNSA plans to launch another deflection mission to near-Earth object 2019 VL5, a 30-metre-wide (100 ft.) asteroid.
  • This will include both an impactor and observer spacecraft.

India’s Future in Planetary Defence:

• Opportunities: While asteroids pose potential threats to Earth, they also offer significant opportunities for scientific discovery, potentially revealing insights into the universe’s formation and the origins of life on earth.
  • As a major spacefaring nation with the capability to carry out complex missions of taking a spacecraft from one place to another, India will be in a position to Handle an asteroid mission, land on an asteroid, and possibly carry out a planetary defence action to protect Earth.
  • India should start by collaborating with other nations that have already started work in this area. For example, Japan’s JAXA has gone to an asteroid and collected samples.
  • ISRO should also be a part of the worldwide planetary defence programme in collaboration with other agencies.
• Funding challenges: With ISRO heavily invested in the human space mission to launch an astronaut into space, the space agency is believed to be lacking funds for new projects like asteroid missions.

Learning from NASA’s DART mission: The DART mission shows the possibilities of imparting a change of trajectory to an asteroid and causing it to depart from its course.

International Cooperation

Planetary defense is a global effort requiring collaboration among various countries and space agencies.

International partners include:

• United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA): Facilitates international cooperation and coordination on planetary defense.
• International Asteroid Warning Network (IAWN): An international group of observatories and agencies sharing data and information on NEO threats.
• Space Mission Planning Advisory Group (SMPAG): An international forum for space agencies to plan and coordinate NEO impact mitigation missions.

Source:

https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/what-is-planetary-protection/article68618189.ece