Cassandra, a strategy to protect our planet from Near Earth objects
- Paper number
IAC-06-A3.5.07
- Author
Mr. Riccardo Nadalini, Deutsches Zentrum fur Luft und Raumfahrt e.V. (DLR), Germany
- Coauthor
Team Cassandra, France
- Year
2006
- Abstract
The Cassandra study is an examination of how a NEO encounter event could be addressed from technical and global perspectives. The team composed by 30 members from 13 nations, during the International Space University Summer Session Program in 2005 has investigated and devel-oped processes for assessing, detecting and mitigating a NEO encounter while at the same time addressing and responding to the social and political concerns. A major focus of the project has been to address all issues from an international perspective. To begin with, relying on current scientific knowledge, the origins, composi-tion, structure and population of NEOs have been reviewed and the impact probabilities have been examined. A baseline scenario has been selected as a test case for further investigation. The practical example used in the study is the fictional comet "Cassandra", a long period, high inclination comet approaching Earth from the outer reaches of the solar system. Being prepared for a NEO encounter requires setting up a continuous monitoring capability able to observe different regions in space at short in-tervals of time. In the detection section of the study, three possible ap-proaches have been considered to accomplish this objective: ground-based, space-based, and moon-based systems. Review and assessment of the most resource effective method, with the purpose of filling the gaps in the existing and planned systems, has been conducted. After a threatening object is detected, a feasible mitigation strategy must be developed and implemented to avert the threat. Two particular methods of mitigation are possible, namely deflection or disruption (fragmentation) of the object, with different practical approaches possible. After a review of the approaches, one has been selected and, on this basis, a possible mitiga-tion mission has been devised. The international cooperation section addresses the legal, international and economic issues and, most important, the command and control issues re-lated to the need for prompt and clear decisions during a NEO event. As a consequence, an International Near Earth Object Committee (INEOC) is proposed. The last part of the report addresses the complex and broad social issues involved with the NEO threat and the mitigation approaches. One of its fo-cuses is the augmentation of current media communication between the scientific community and the public. Team Cassandra includes: M.Alphonso, L.Appolloni, S.Asturias, J.Bourdon, C.Bui, V.Chouinard, M. Colwell, D. D'Udekem, P.Edmundson, A.Flouris, D.Gardien, A.Guest, H.Zhe, H.Jansen, R.Khullar, J.Kwong, A.Lasslop, O.Leonard, L.Dong, J.Lonchard, A.MacDonald, M.Misiaszek, R.Nadalini, P.Reilly, J.Scott, A.Solignac, S.Solomone, M.Stein, A.Trur, Z.Jian
- Abstract document
- Manuscript document
IAC-06-A3.5.07.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).
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