Deflecting an asteroid isn’t just a matter of smashing into it with a spacecraft. If the strike happens in the wrong place, it could nudge the space rock into a tiny gravitational “keyhole,” a hidden gateway that steers it back onto a collision course with Earth. Building on lessons from NASA’s DART mission, researchers are […]



Summary

Researchers, building on NASA’s DART mission, are learning that deflecting asteroids is more complex than simply hitting them. A poorly placed impact can push an asteroid into a gravitational "keyhole," a point in space that redirects the asteroid back towards Earth. Understanding and avoiding these keyholes is crucial for effective planetary defense. Future missions need to precisely target asteroids to ensure deflection pushes them away from Earth, not back into a dangerous trajectory.

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