On the consequences of a fragmentation due to a NEO mitigation strategy

Sanchez, J.P., Vasile, M. and Radice, G. (2008) On the consequences of a fragmentation due to a NEO mitigation strategy. In: 59th International Astronautical Congress IAC 2008, Glasgow, UK, 29 Sep - 3 Oct 2008,

Abstract

The fragmentation of an Earth threatening asteroid as a result of a hazard mitigation mission is examined in this paper. The minimum required energy for a successful impulsive deflection of a threatening object is computed and compared with the energy required to break-up a small size asteroid. The fragmentation of an asteroid that underwent an impulsive deflection such as a kinetic impact or a nuclear explosion is a very plausible outcome in the light of this work. Thus a model describing the stochastic evolution of the cloud of fragments is described. The stochasticity of the fragmentation is given by a Gaussian probability distribution that describes the initial relative velocities of each fragment of the asteroid, while the size distribution is expressed through a power law function. The fragmentation model is applied to Apophis as illustrative example. If a barely catastrophic disruption (i.e. the largest fragment is half the size the original asteroid) occurs 10 to 20 years prior to the Earth encounter only a reduction from 50% to 80% of the potential damage is achieve for the Apophis test case.

• Item Type: Conference Proceedings
• Additional Information: Paper Number: IAC-08-C1.3.10
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Radice, Dr Gianmarco and Vasile, Dr Massimiliano
• Authors: Sanchez, J.P., Vasile, M., and Radice, G.
• Subjects: T Technology > TL Motor vehicles. Aeronautics. Astronautics
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering > Autonomous Systems and Connectivity
• Research Group: Space Advanced Research Team
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2008 The Author
• First Published: First published in proceedings of the 59th International Astronautical Congress
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced with permission of the author