Speaker
Description
The threat of asteroid impacts on Earth has driven the development of advanced deflection technologies, forming a cornerstone of planetary defense strategies. This paper reviews the latest advancements and challenges in asteroid deflection technologies, focusing on kinetic impactors, gravity tractors, nuclear explosive devices, and hybrid methods. Each technology is evaluated for its feasibility, mission readiness, and effectiveness under various asteroid compositions and trajectories. The study incorporates insights from recent missions such as NASA’s DART, which demonstrated the viability of kinetic impactors, alongside theoretical analyses and optimization models for deflection strategies. It also talks about emerging concepts like laser ablation and electrostatic repulsion, which emphasizes their potential for addressing complex scenarios such as binary asteroid systems or high-velocity impacts. Special attention is given to the influence of asteroid properties—density, porosity, rotation, and surface cohesion—on the efficacy of deflection techniques.
Furthermore, the paper highlights the role of advanced mission design tools in optimizing deflection campaigns. These tools enable rapid trajectory calculations and trade-off analyses, facilitating the selection of optimal spacecraft configurations and deflection windows. Challenges such as system integration, cost constraints are also discussed. Current research were synthesized and gaps in existing knowledge were identified. This study provides a comprehensive framework for advancing asteroid deflection technologies and aims to guide future developments in planetary defense, ensuring preparedness for potential asteroid threats and safeguarding Earth from catastrophic impacts.