Space agencies across the world are working towards building planetary defense capabilities to protect the Earth from asteroids and ISRO is also keen to take charge in this regard. Representative image/AP
Apophis, a near-Earth asteroid, and termed as the most dangerous of the present era with a diameter of 370 meters, will fly by us on April 13, 2029 and again in 2036. As a leading space nation, India should also take responsibility for protecting Earth from asteroids, said Dr S Somanath
A huge blast of air from an asteroid flattened about 2,200 square kilometers of dense forest, destroying nearly 80 million trees in Tunguska, a remote place in Siberia on June 30, 1908. Apophis, a near-Earth asteroid, and considered the most the most dangerous from the current era with a diameter of 370 meters will fly by us on April 13, 2029 and again in 2036. An impact of an asteroid 10 km or larger is considered an extinction-level event, causing most species to disappear because of its consequences. Such an impact is hypothesized to have caused the extinction of the dinosaurs. Space agencies across the world are working towards building planetary defense capabilities to protect the Earth from asteroids and ISRO is also keen to take charge in this regard.
“Our lifespan is 70-80 years and we don’t see such catastrophes in our lifetime, so we take it for granted that these are not possible. If you look at the history of the world and the universe, these events are frequent… the approach of an asteroid to the planets and its impact. I have seen an asteroid hitting Jupiter, Shoemaker-Levy hitting. If such an event happens on Earth, we are all gone,” ISRO chief S Somanath said. “These are real possibilities. We must prepare. We don’t want this to happen to Mother Earth. We want humanity and all life forms to live here. But we can’t stop it. We have to find alternatives for it. So we have a method by which we can avoid it. We can detect close approach to Earth and remove it and sometimes it can also be impossible. So the technology has to be developed, the forecasting capabilities, the ability to send heavier equipment there to avoid it, improving surveillance and working together with other nations on a protocol.”
In recent years, several scientific missions to explore asteroids and return samples have significantly improved the understanding of asteroids. The recent successful demonstration of kinetic impactor technology for asteroid deflection by the DART mission has further fueled global interest in the field. ISRO says it has also launched activities focused on planetary defence.
“It will take shape in the coming days. When the threat becomes real, humanity will come together and work for it. As a leading space nation, we must take responsibility. It is not just for India but for the whole world that we have to take the responsibility to prepare and develop the technical skills, the programming ability to do this and the ability to work with other agencies,” the ISRO chief said.
On World Asteroid Day (June 30), ISRO also organized a seminar where leading experts from space agencies such as JAXA and ESA held technical talks on the Hayabusa-2 asteroid mission, ongoing planetary protection and asteroid monitoring activities undertaken by ESA , and the role of organizations such as IAWN (International Asteroid Warning Network) and SMPAG (Space Mission Planning Advisory Group) in dealing with asteroid impact threats.
“Experiments are underway to find out if an asteroid is expected to hit within a year and if we are ready to defend,” said Anil Kumar, Associate Director of ISRO’s Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC).
