Astronomers track most of the largest and deadliest asteroids in our solar system, but there is one glaring blind spot in the sky. It’s near the sun. Thankfully, ESA has plans to close this gap soon, and NEOMIR is a mission that will give us advance warning of rocks coming to Earth from that direction.
As we’ve seen in the past, asteroid impacts can have devastating consequences. Since the 1990s, NASA and other organizations have worked together to identify and track as many space rocks as possible in order to predict when impacts will occur. If detected early enough, there may be time to intervene. After all, recent tests to redirect an asteroid by crashing a spacecraft into it have proven successful.
The search has been successful so far, but there is one direction the asteroid could be creeping up on us. When something approaches from the direction of the sun, the glare makes it difficult for observatories to see them. For example, a meteor that exploded over Chelyabinsk, Russia in 2013 completely blinded us because it was hidden in the sun’s glare. Recently, astronomers using dark energy cameras have discovered several potentially dangerous giant asteroids lurking in the region.
But hopefully this blind spot won’t last long. ESA is currently planning a mission dedicated to observing medium-sized asteroids approaching from the direction of the Sun, giving it plenty of time to respond.
ESA/Pierre Carril
Known as the Near-Earth Object Mission in the Infrared (NEOMIR), the project will place the spacecraft between the Earth and the Sun at what is called Lagrange Point 1. From there, infrared equipment is used to monitor the heat. Emitted from the asteroid itself, you can see the asteroid as the sunlight doesn’t wash over it. This heat is absorbed by the atmosphere, making it invisible to ground-based telescopes.
From this point of view, NEOMIR should give at least three weeks’ notice of the approach of the asteroid. Even in the worst-case scenario, if a space rock passes through the observatory itself, you’ll get a three-day warning.
It may sound like you have no time for anything but panic, but these aren’t the global apocalypse we’re talking about. It is designed to observe asteroids several tens of meters in diameter, such as the Tunguska object.
These events still wreaked havoc on city-sized areas, such as blowing out windows in the former and flattening trees in the latter. people will be given time to evacuate or prepare.
NEOMIR is currently in the early stages of mission research and is expected to launch around 2030 if all goes according to plan. If so, it could be an important addition to your asteroid monitoring toolbox.
Source: ESA
