Produced by: Tarun Mishra
On June 30, 1908, an asteroid caused a massive air blast in Tunguska, Siberia, flattening about 2,200 square kilometres of dense forest and destroying nearly 80 million trees.
Credit: www-th.bo.infn.it/tunguska / University of Bologna
Apophis, a near-Earth asteroid with a diameter of 370 meters, is deemed one of the most hazardous asteroids of the present era. It will fly by Earth on April 13, 2029, and again in 2036.
Impacts from asteroids 10 kilometres or larger are considered extinction-scale events, potentially causing most species to perish. Such an event is believed to have caused the extinction of the dinosaurs.
Global space agencies, including ISRO, are developing planetary defence capabilities to protect Earth from asteroids. ISRO is keen on taking responsibility in this area.
ISRO chief S Somanath while talking to News18 emphasized the real possibility of asteroid impacts and the need for preparation. He stressed the importance of developing technology for deflection, prediction capabilities, and international cooperation.
Recent scientific missions have improved understanding of asteroids. The successful demonstration of kinetic impactor technology for asteroid deflection by the DART mission has increased global interest in planetary defence.
ISRO has initiated focused activities towards planetary defence, aiming to develop technical and programming capabilities to detect and deflect potential threats.
On World Asteroid Day (June 30), ISRO hosted a workshop featuring experts from space agencies like JAXA and ESA. Topics included the Hayabusa-2 asteroid mission, ongoing planetary defence, and the role of international organizations in managing asteroid impact threats.
Anil Kumar, Associate Director of ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC), mentioned ongoing experiments to determine readiness to defend against an asteroid expected to hit within a year.