The Case for a Planetary Defense-Optimized NEO Characterization Tour
Whitepaper #336 submitted to the Planetary Science and Astrobiology Decadal Survey 2023-2032. Topics: planetary defense; primitive bodies; technology development
by Andrew Rivkin, Terik Daly, Justin Atchison, Brent Barbee, Paul Abell, Angela Stickle, Thomas S. Sotirelis, Patrick K. King, Derek Richardson, Benjamin Greenhagen, Olivier Barnouin, Cristina Thomas, Dawn Graninger, Carolyn Ernst, Stefanie N. Milam, and Daniel J. Scheeres
Published onMar 18, 2021
The Case for a Planetary Defense-Optimized NEO Characterization Tour
For the first time, planetary defense priorities are being included in the community’s decadal re-evaluation of planetary science. In this paper include a set of recommendations for future characterization missions, and suggest studying a “Potentially-Hazardous Asteroid Characterization Tour” (PHACT) mission concept optimized for planetary defense.
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC-BY 4.0)
