9th IAA PLANETARY DEFENSE CONFERENCE 2025

After the success of the NASA/DART mission (Daly et al., 2023; Chabot et al., 2024), attention has turned to demonstrating alternative technologies for mitigation and deflection. The gravity tractor is one such technology that uses its own gravity to slowly ``tow'' an asteroid and alter its trajectory (Lu and Love, 2005). Using the Gauss planetary equations, we derive a simple first-order...

As the threat of hazardous Near-Earth Objects (NEOs) continues to pose a potential risk to Earth’s safety, developing effective planetary defense strategies is becoming an urgent priority. One promising approach is the use of a nuclear deflection mission, leveraging the energy released by a nuclear device to alter the trajectory of an incoming NEO. This abstract outlines the key technologies...

As Near-Earth Objects (NEOs) continue to present significant risks to planetary safety, advancing asteroid deflection technologies is crucial for strengthening global defense strategies. Traditional methods, such as kinetic impactors and gravity tractors, have demonstrated potential but face challenges related to scalability, precision, and lead-time adaptation. This study introduces an...

The planetary defense community practices mission-planning to deflect or disrupt any near earth asteroids (NEAs) that are found to be on an Earth-impacting trajectory. Many scenarios must be con- sidered to determine the optimal mission type to recommend. While a kinetic impactor is the first choice for a deflection mission, either a large asteroid or a short warning time may require using a...

The physical and chemical composition of asteroids plays a pivotal role in determining the efficacy of planetary defense strategies. Asteroids are classified into three primary types: metallic (M-type), carbonaceous (C-type), and stony (S-type). Each composition presents unique challenges and opportunities for mitigation techniques, such as kinetic impactors, nuclear disruption, and gravity...

Keywords: Binary Asteroid Formation, Collisional Spin-Up, N-body simulation
The evolution of rotation rates of small asteroids is subject to mechanisms including: (1) the Yarkovsky-O’Keefe-Radzievskii-Paddack (YORP) effect resulting in a net torque that can secularly modify the body’s rotation rate and orientation; (2) off-spin-axis collisions by projectiles can change the spin state of an...

Keywords: Asteroid Deflection, Asteroid Disruption, Nuclear Mitigation Strategy, Asteroid Composition, Near-Earth Object

Session: Deflection/Disruption Modeling and Testing

Space is perpetually monitored by scientists for near-Earth objects (NEOs) that could potentially collide with Earth. If a problematic NEO is detected early enough, then multiple mitigation options can be devised. One...

The PI method represents an alternative approach to planetary defense from asteroids which utilizes energy transfer to disrupt an asteroid rather than momentum transfer to alter its orbit. The method makes use of various possible configurations of hypervelocity penetrators which can operate in one of six modes, ranging from asymmetrical fragmentation for enhanced deflection (which is useful...

This LOSSOL presentation will focus on current developments in high energy laser technology, merits and challenges, and Planetary Defense application of Directed Energy Systems for timely intervention of bolides threat to high value assets on the Moon and potential for Earh applications as well.

Near-earth objects can range from less than one meter to tens of kilometres. While smaller NEOs explode entering the atmosphere, those bigger than 140 m are considered potential hazardous objects (PHO) and are monitored to avoid future catastrophes. Even though early detection and warning systems help us in analysing the threat, we need technology to deflect or destroy the PHOs before they...

Please see attached PDF.

Acknowledgement
Funded by the European Union (ERC, TRACES, 101077758). Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Council. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

(See attached file for formatted layout and figures.)

We developed asteroid rubble pile simulations made of crushed basalt. Within the DART community, nearly all computations were performed with basalt as a surrogate for the Dimorphos surface material since it is viewed by many as an appropriate analog to the asteroid material. Basalt was also used by DART Investigation Team members and...

In this paper, I argue for a new perspective on the design of nuclear weapons for planetary defense missions. At the time of writing, the mandate for Sandia’s planetary defense team is to modify existing stockpile weapons as needed for employment in the deflection of a near-earth object. However, this runs up against a universally acknowledged but seldom-mentioned problem: the placement of...

In asteroid kinetic deflection missions, the presence of ejecta leads to a phenomenon where the system's momentum appears to be "amplified" after impact. In our previous work, we leveraged this phenomenon and demonstrated, through simulations of kinetic deflection missions to 32 potentially hazardous asteroids (PHAs), that striking a point offset from the geometric center of the asteroid...

Keywords: kinetic impactor, asteroid deflection, asteroid disruption

The potential for accidental disruption of an asteroid during a kinetic impact deflection attempt poses significant risks for planetary defense strategies. As the velocity change applied to an asteroid during a deflection attempt increases, so does the likelihood of inadvertent fragmentation or partial disruption....

In the event of a potential asteroid impact on Earth, if an attempt can be made to prevent it, time will be of the essence. Simple models for determining what mission types are best-suited to deploy based on the circumstances are invaluable tools for facilitating a swift response. When NASA mission designers are exploring the mission space and uncertainties for exercises, such as the one...

Multiphysics simulations involve a number of modeling choices, including material strength, meshing strategies, and equation of state. These methods are often verified using ideal scenarios (e.g., uniform mesh, analytic solutions available), but there are scenarios during which this approach is not feasible. Planetary defense, a research subject focused on protecting Earth from impacts from...

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...

Keywords: Catastrophic Disruption, Kinetic Impactor, Laboratory Experiments, Numerical Simulations

NASA’s DART mission successfully altered the orbit of a 160-m-diameter asteroid, demonstrating kinetic impactor technology for Planetary Defense. While successful, the DART mission also raised new questions about the extent at which kinetic impactors could be used in real scenarios. In...