Could NASA accidentally send an asteroid hurtling toward Earth?
NASA is investing significant resources into asteroid defence, but its new protective system could have unintended consequences.
The US space agency’s latest asteroid deflection initiative, the DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test) mission, is a major scientific milestone but also carries potential risks, according to an article by LADbible. Researchers warn that while the system is designed to divert asteroids, it could unintentionally direct them towards Earth.
Initial NASA test a success
Developed by the Johns Hopkins Laboratory for NASA, the DART system was launched in November 2022. After travelling for over 10 months, it successfully collided with an asteroid named Dimorphos — a moonlet of the larger asteroid Didymos — at a distance of 11 million kilometres. The collision was a controlled experiment aimed at determining whether a kinetic strike could redirect an asteroid on a potential collision course with Earth.
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NASA hailed the mission as a success and noted its significant contribution to refining future asteroid-deflection models. “The success of DART advances the development of asteroid-deflection models and helps researchers better understand how – and when – a kinetic impactor could be used to redirect an asteroid approaching Earth,” the agency stated.
Could NASA’s latest breakthrough backfire when it comes to asteroids?
While the DART mission exceeded expectations, growing concerns are being raised about the unintended consequences of altering an asteroid’s trajectory. Recent studies highlight one of the greatest risks in asteroid redirection: the so-called “gravitational keyholes”. If an asteroid were to inadvertently pass through one of these small regions in space, it could be nudged onto a future collision course with Earth.
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“If we’re deliberately redirecting an asteroid away from Earth in such a mission, we need to be absolutely sure it won’t later pass through one of these keyholes. If it does, we could be facing the same threat all over again,” warned Rahil Makadia, a NASA research fellow. Makadia and his team caution that even minor trajectory adjustments could have severe long-term consequences.
On-site surveys may be the safest approach
In response, their latest research has developed a method to map gravitational keyholes and identify the safest collision sites. While this analysis can be performed through Earth-based observations, the scientists argue that conducting surveys directly at the target site would be far more effective.
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The DART mission is not only a showcase of technological prowess but also a reminder of an ongoing dilemma: how to safely redirect an asteroid without inadvertently setting it on a future path towards Earth.
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