How can humans protect the Earth from "devastating asteroid and comet impacts?" According to the National Academies and their 2023-2032 Planetary Science and Astrobiology Decadal Survey, ground-based astronomical radar systems will have a "unique role" to play in planetary defense.
There is currently only one system in the world concentrating on these efforts, NASA's Goldstone solar system Radar, part of the Deep Space Network (DSN). However, a new instrument concept from the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) called the next-generation RADAR (ngRADAR) system will use the National Science Foundation's Green Bank Telescope (GBT) and other current and future facilities to expand on these capabilities.
"There are many applications for the future of radar, from substantially advancing our knowledge of the solar system to informing future robotic and crewed spaceflight and characterizing hazardous objects that stray too close to Earth," shares Tony Beasley, NRAO's director.
On Saturday, February 17th, scientists will showcase recent results obtained with ground-based radar systems at the American Association for the Advancement of Science's annual conference in Denver, Colorado.
"NRAO, with the support of the National Science Foundation and oversight by Associated Universities, Inc., has a long history of using radar to further our understanding of the universe. Most recently the GBT helped confirm the success of NASA's DART mission, the first test to see if humans could successfully alter the trajectory of an asteroid," says NRAO scientist and ngRADAR project director Patrick Taylor.
The GBT is the world's largest fully steerable radio telescope. The maneuverability of its 100-meter dish enables it to observe 85 percent of the celestial sphere, allowing it to track objects across its field of view quickly.
Amazing.
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