Whether it’s a concern that’s decades in the past or in the weeks to come, the end of the world is always going to be on people’s minds. One common theory is that at some point, a massive meteor will hurtle toward Earth and wipe it out with one strike. NASA has long since confirmed that there won’t be any world-ending meteors for a good while, but that doesn’t mean the organization is resting on its laurels.
In preparation for the worst-case scenario, NASA has teamed up with the European Space Agency to create the Asteroid Impact and Deflection Assessment, or Aida. The plan is to test the practicality of what sounds like something out of a movie: pushing an asteroid out of Earth’s orbit. In 2020, two spaceships will be launched to collide with the 525-foot asteroid Didymoon — an offshoot of the larger asteroid Didymos — and move it off-course; from there, NASA and company can determine if the same could be done for a larger asteroid.
Of course, Aida is actually an initiative split into two halves. The ESA’s mission — via a small lander — is to study Didymoon’s structure, mass, and density for future reference, while NASA’s probe will handle the actual impact. Aida will likely yield more short-term goals than anything when it goes active, but it’s at least the first step towards making sure Earth is prepared.
