[meteorite-list] Mars Mission May Carry Asteroid-Smashing Probe in 2016

[Ron Baalke]

http://www.space.com/20864-asteroid-deflection-mars-mission.html

Mars Mission May Carry Asteroid-Smashing Probe in 2016
by Leonard David
space.com
29 April 2013

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. - When a NASA mission to study Mars' deep interior 
blasts off in 2016, it may also carry a tag-along experiment that 
will slam an impactor into a potentially hazardous asteroid.

Scientists are studying the possibility of adding the asteroid-deflection 
effort - dubbed Impactor for Surface and Interior Science (ISIS) - to NASA's 
InSight Mars mission, which is slated to launch a lander toward the Red 
Planet in March 2016.

Once set loose in space, ISIS is designed to slam into the asteroid target 
of the already-on-the-books NASA mission Osiris-Rex, which aims to launch a 
robotic probe toward potentially dangerous asteroid 1999 RQ36 in September 
2016

Hardware alignment

"This opportunity with a free launch and the observer spacecraft already at 
the asteroid is like a planetary alignment. It almost never happens," said 
Steven Chesley of the solar system dynamics group at NASA's Jet Propulsion 
Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. who is leading the potential ISIS mission.

Chesley discussed ISIS here during the 2013 International Academy of 
Astronautics' Planetary Defense Conference, which ran from April 15 to 18.

SIS would take advantage of a boost into space from the InSight Mars lander 
mission in 2016.

NASA's Osiris-Rex mission has an amalgam of asteroid-studying duties, as the 
name suggests: Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, 
Security, Regolith Explorer. The Osiris-Rex mission is a partnership involving 
the University of Arizona, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and Lockheed 
Martin, with collaborators worldwide.

The Osiris-Rex spacecraft is scripted for travel to 1999 RQ36, a near-Earth 
carbonaceous asteroid. The probe will rendezvous with that space rock in 
2019-2021, gathering and returning specimens of the object for delivery to 
Earth in 2023.

The new plan being devised has ISIS arriving after Osiris-Rex has done its 
science work at the asteroid. ISIS would smack at high velocity into the 
near-Earth asteroid, creating a crater tens of meters in diameter.

Celestial wallop

>From a safe vantage point, Osiris-Rex would observe the celestial wallop.

After debris clears, the probe would then approach the asteroid and image the 
crater for comparative analysis of previously mapped terrain. In addition, 
spectra of the pristine material exposed by the impact could be obtained.

The purposeful crash of ISIS into the asteroid is viewed, in part, as a seismic 
experiment. Global alterations (toppled rocks, landslides) due to shock 
waves and reverberations are anticipated, as is lofting of material far 
from the impact site. Just how much the asteroid is deflected from its 
course will also be measured.

The outcome of the ISIS impact, and the data it generates, are meant to 
showcase planetary defense aspects of an asteroid deflection experiment, like 
demonstrating terminal guidance capability.

ISIS also spotlights important science return per dollar, advocates say.

On the exploration side, ISIS squarely addresses numerous critical and strategic 
knowledge gaps for human exploration of near-Earth asteroids, Chesley told 
conference attendees.

Crosshairs on Earth

Why all the fuss about asteroid 1999 RQ36?

For one, the security aspect of the Osiris-Rex mission centers on calculations 
of the space rock's future orbits, and its potential to collide with Earth. Those 
appraisals indicate that the object has the highest impact probabilities in the 
next few centuries of any known asteroid.

So studying 1999 RQ36's orbit and composition can help scientists better understand 
the threat posed by the asteroid, Chesley said.

Armed with that new data, policymakers would be able to decide what steps, if any, 
should be taken to alleviate the chance of 1999 RQ36 striking our home planet.

Quick turnaround

"We are not past our window for implementing this mission," Chesley said, "but 
there's not a lot of time." The hope is to get an ISIS go-ahead in the fall, he 
said.

NASA Headquarters is footing the bill on the study to bring ISIS to a level of 
maturity, Chesley said - work that would enable a quick turnaround into full-scale 
development.

Chesley said that coarse estimates put the ISIS cost somewhat north of $100 million.

"Careful scrubbing of cost estimates is part of the study plan that is getting 
underway, and I am confident that we can keep it close to the $100 million price 
point," he said.

No doubt, the biggest challenge facing ISIS is the current budget climate, Chesley 
said. "The route to go ahead with the mission is a programmatic decision."
 
Everything about the ISIS mission should be ready to go right off the shelf, Chesley 
said.
 
"As an asteroid deflection mitigation demonstration ... learning how to go from zero 
to 60 is worth pointing out," Chesley said. "So this is a perfect opportunity to 
demonstrate that from the time that somebody pulls the trigger, we can launch in 30 
months ... and that's the schedule that we're looking for."