We were able to determine the possible impact locations, which initially extended from western Greenland to off the coast of Norway,” said Davide Farnocchia, a navigation engineer at JPL who developed Scout. “Scout had only 14 observations over 40 minutes from one observatory to work with when it first identified the object as an impactor. CNEOS calculates every known near-Earth asteroid orbit to improve impact hazard assessments in support of the Planetary Defense Coordination Office. Maintained by CNEOS at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, Scout automatically searches the Minor Planet Center’s database for possible new short-term impactors. As soon as Scout determined that 2022 EB5 was going to hit Earth’s atmosphere, the system alerted the Center for Near Earth Object Studies ( CNEOS) and NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office, and flagged the object on the Scout webpage to notify the near-Earth object observing community. NASA’s “Scout” impact hazard assessment system then took these early measurements to calculate the trajectory of 2022 EB5. The object was posted on the Minor Planet Center’s Near-Earth Object Confirmation Page to flag it for additional observations that would confirm it as a previously unknown asteroid. ![]() Sarneczky at the Piszkéstető Observatory in northern Hungary first reported observations of the small object to the Minor Planet Center – the internationally recognized clearinghouse for the position measurements of small celestial bodies. Two hours before the asteroid made impact, K. But this event wasn’t a complete surprise: Astronomers knew it was on a collision course, predicting exactly where and when the impact would happen. Credits: NASA/JPL-CaltechĪsteroid 2022 EB5 was too small to pose a hazard to Earth, but its discovery marks the fifth time that any asteroid has been observed before impacting into the atmosphere.Ī small asteroid hit Earth’s atmosphere over the Norwegian Sea before disintegrating on March 11, 2022. Zoom in to travel along with your favorite spacecraft as they explore these fascinating near-Earth objects in beautiful 3D. 2-3.Fully interactive, Eyes on Asteroids uses science data to help visualize asteroid and comet orbits around the Sun. Peaks April 21-22.Īpril 15 to May 27: Eta Aquarids. ![]() Meteor shower datesĬalling all scorching rock and metal lovers, here's a list of 2022's meteor showers.Īpril 15 to 29: Lyrids. Originally scheduled to launch in 2020, it was delayed due to hardware and software issues as well as COVID-19 setbacks. Then, it was scheduled to launch in September and arrive on the rocky orb in 2023, but due to Russia's war on Ukraine, the European Space Agency stated that a 2022 launch date seems "very unlikely." The next opportunity where Earth and Mars orbits align for launch won't come until 2024. DNA or not, it will add to our repertoire of spectacular photos and information of the red planet's surface. The rover is named after the scientist critical to the discovery of DNA. The Rosalind Franklin rover, a joint project of Russia and the European Space Agency, is embarking on a mission dubbed ExoMars to find something unexpected on Mars. ![]() In fact, leading the charge, NASA is readying itself for its upcoming Artemis I mission, which will send an unmanned spacecraft into lunar orbit in an attempt to map out a trajectory for later missions that will include a full crew. International agencies, including NASA, the European Space Agency, the Korean Aerospace Research Institute and the Indian Space Research Organization have plans to head straight into the void and uncover the universe's best kept secrets. We received incredible images from Mars rover Perseverance and its helicopter buddy, Ingenuity, and learned more than we once thought possible about exoplanets and faraway stars in the galaxy.īut 2022 is shaping up to be even better. In just 365 days, we witnessed the genesis of trailblazing achievements such as the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope, SpaceX's Inspiration 4, which remarkably sent civilians into outer space, and the applause-filled sendoff of NASA's planetary defense prototype, DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test), to name just a few. The year 2021 was historic for space exploration.
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