A 'Self-Driving' Spacecraft May Help Save Earth from Asteroid Collisions

[Judi Lynn]

By Hanneke Weitering 21 hours ago

Europe's next asteroid mission, which could launch in 2023, will rely on the same kind of navigation technology as self-driving cars.

Named "Hera" after the Greek goddess of marriage, this proposed planetary defense mission would visit the 2,550-foot-wide (780 meters) asteroid 65803 Didymos and its tiny satellite, a 525-foot (160 m) object informally nicknamed "Didymoon."

While deep-space missions typically rely on controllers back on Earth to send navigation commands, Hera will have an automatic navigation system built in. This will allow Hera to steer itself in real time rather than waiting several minutes to receive a command signal sent from Earth.

"If you think self-driving cars are the future on Earth, then Hera is the pioneer of autonomy in deep space," Paolo Martino, the lead systems engineer for Hera, said in a statement. Having an autonomous navigation system will enable the spacecraft to fly closer to both Didymos and Didymoon, which will allow it to take better high-resolution images of their surfaces, European Space Agency (ESA) officials said in the statement.

More:
https://www.space.com/hera-self-driving-spacecraft-asteroid-defense.html

[democratisphere]

1. I am hoping a self-driving spacecraft will help me get off this crazy planet.

There has got to be sane, intelligent life out there somewhere.

[eppur_se_muova]

2. Outer space is the ideal environment for this technology -- not our highways. nt