It is the first time scientists have traced showering space rock to its source – in this case Vesta, one of largest bodies in the asteroid belt that circles the sun between Jupiter and Mars.
The six-tonne asteroid punched into Earth's atmosphere at 37,000mph in June 2018 and broke apart above the central Kalahari game reserve, creating a fireball nearly as bright as the sun. Immediate searches of the presumed landing site found a small meteorite, which was named Motopi Pan.
China Points Toward Asteroid Defense System, Comet Mission | Voice of America - English
BEIJING - China will discuss building a defense system against near-Earth asteroids, a senior space agency official said Saturday, as the country steps up its longer-term space ambitions.
Zhang Kejian, head of the China National Space Administration, did not provide further detail in his opening remarks at a ceremony for China's Space Day in the eastern city of Nanjing.
China has made space exploration a top priority in recent years, aiming to establish a program operating thousands of space flights a year and carrying tens of thousands of tons of cargo and passengers by 2045.
China in Space: Moon Mission, Asteroid Defence, and Mars Rover Named After a Mythical God
"Zhu Rong is revered as the earliest god of fire in traditional Chinese culture, symbolising the use of fire to illuminate the earth and bring light," the space administration said in a statement on Saturday.
Robotic spacecraft will fly to asteroid, comet - Chinadaily.com.cn
Chinese scientists and engineers have begun to develop a robotic spacecraft to collect samples from an asteroid and have performed many ground tests, a top scientist said.
Ye Peijian, a leading spacecraft researcher at the China Academy of Space Technology, said Chinese researchers have chosen 2016 HO3, the smallest and closest "quasi-satellite" to Earth, as the target.
"We plan to use a probe to obtain some samples and bring them to Earth. After accomplishing this goal, it will continue to fly toward a main-belt comet to explore it," he told the main forum of the 2021 China Space Conference in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, on Saturday, which was China's Space Day. "The whole mission is expected to take about 10 years."
Two Huge Asteroids To Pass Earth Ahead of NASA's Impact Simulation
The asteroids 2016 QE45 and 2021 FK3 are due to speed past our planet tonight and Saturday on what will be their closest orbital approaches for years.
The two space rocks are in orbit around our sun, and every so often their orbits cross the path of Earth's. It could be many years before they pass relatively close by. The weekend's close passes will be safe.
2016 QE45 will make its close approach to Earth at around 9:48 p.m. ET, April 23. At its nearest, the asteroid will be around 0.03391 au away—or 3,152,131 miles from Earth. This is more than 13 times the distance between the Earth and the Moon.
Scientists Trace 22-Million-Year Journey Of An Asteroid For The First Time Ever! - Science
It has recently come to light that astronomers have successfully managed to trace a 22 million years long journey of an asteroid 2018 LA that burst over Botswana and showered meteorites across the Kalahari desert on June 2, 2018. The research has been published in the Meteoritics and Planetary Science journal and was led by NASA Ames Research Center and the SETI Institute in the US.
As reported by the Guardian, this is the first time when scientists have managed to recreate a path of an asteroid from its place of origin to the Earth. What helped the scientists trace the path and origin of an asteroid 2018 LA are its images that had been captured using three telescopes installed far apart on the surface of the Earth. far away from the Earth's surface allowed the researchers to reconstruct its trajectory and find out its origin.
Science News Roundup: China eyes asteroid defence system, comet mission; Astronauts arrive at
China will hold discussions on building a defence system against near-Earth asteroids, a senior space agency official said on Saturday, as the country steps up its longer-term space ambitions. Zhang Kejian , head of the China National Space Administration , did not provide further detail in his opening remarks at a ceremony for China's space day in the eastern city of Nanjing.
Watch now: OSIRIS REx Final Flyover of asteroid Bennu | Healthy Aging | tucson.com
During TAG, the spacecraft's sampling head sunk 1.6 feet into the asteroid's surface and simultaneously fired a pressurized charge of nitrogen gas, churning up surface material and driving it into the collection chamber. Final flyby photos reveal the aftermath of the encounter. (Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/James Tralie).
NASA to Roleplay an Asteroid Impacting Earth Scenario | Digital Trends
This week, space agencies from around the world will drop everything to figure out an emergency response to our planet being struck by an enormous asteroid. But you needn’t start stocking up on canned goods or survival supplies, as the asteroid impact is only hypothetical, and the planning is part of a scenario played out at the 7th IAA Planetary Defense Conference.
Members of NASA's Planetary Defense Coordination Office (PDCO) will join other space scientists in a simulation of how agencies, governments, and regular people might respond if our planet were threatened by an asteroid. Over five days, they will simulate a developing scenario of an impact and will have to tailor their responses to new incoming (albeit fictional) data.
Happening on Twitter
Asteroid's 22m-year journey from source to Earth mapped in historic first https://t.co/69ZfwjTTCK guardian (from London) Fri Apr 23 08:59:47 +0000 2021
Astronomers map asteroid's 22m-year journey to Earth https://t.co/oKbKr7f0hO guardian (from London) Fri Apr 23 00:05:31 +0000 2021
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