The Japanese have created a device to save the Earth from asteroids

Uncontrolled space rocks that pose a threat to the planet will be blocked

The Japanese company Jaxaspace is creating a spacecraft that can protect the Earth from collisions with asteroids. Astronomers believe that in this way the equipment will help protect earthlings from uncontrolled extraterrestrial rocks, which can be the size of a school bus to a dwarf planet.

Japan’s Jaxaspace is planning repurposing tests on its Hayabusa2 spacecraft to prove it can redirect a fast-moving asteroid toward Earth.

Launched in 2014, the spacecraft landed twice on asteroid 1999 JU3, also called Ryugu, more than 300 million kilometers from Earth in 2018. Scientists continue to study samples delivered by the spacecraft.

Meanwhile, a Japanese spacecraft is currently sent to asteroid 2001 CC21, located more than 12 million kilometers from Earth. It is expected to reach it in 2026.

Then, in 2031, Hayabusa2 is expected to fly by the small, school bus-sized, fast-rotating asteroid 1998 KY26, which crosses Earth’s orbit, according to Jaxa.

“The craft is small and fast, and creates a very special physical environment near the surface of the asteroid because the centrifugal force due to the rotation exceeds its gravity,” explains Jaxa.

The Japanese company hopes to study the asteroid because space rocks of this size collide with Earth every hundred or thousand years and could cause significant damage to the planet.

Jaxa emphasizes that both spaceflight tests will demonstrate technology equivalent to that needed to impact a spacecraft with an asteroid.

“This kind of technology is equal to that needed to collide a spacecraft with an asteroid to correct its orbit, making the flyby mission one that could also contribute to planetary defense,” the Japan Space Agency said.

Hayabusa2 was originally designed not for flights that involve observing from a distance asteroids passing by at high relative speeds, but for observing extraterrestrial objects.

For example, in the 2026 mission, asteroid 2001 CC21 and the spacecraft will fly past each other at ultra-high speeds of 18,000 km/h, Jaxa reports.

Recall that NASA has already demonstrated that an asteroid collision with a spacecraft can change the trajectory of a space rock. Then the Dart system (double asteroid redirection test), launched in November 2021, took months to target the asteroid Dimorphos, and crash into it at a speed of 23 thousand kilometers per hour in September 2022.

Tests by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration have revealed the potential of a kinetic impact technique that could one day change the trajectory of an Earth-threatening asteroid. Astronomers are also studying ways to plant and detonate nuclear devices on asteroids to steer them away from a collision course with Earth. Jaxa’s upcoming effort could complement these experiments and contribute to planetary defense.