On 11-13 November 2024, DG DEFIS and ESA met for this year’s edition of their annual workshop on Near-Earth Objects (NEO). This year, the three-day workshop explored ways to determine the size of potentially hazardous NEOs, i.e. space rocks approach the Earth or entering the atmosphere of the Earth.
Over the course of four sessions, participants learned about photometric observations and H magnitude determination, thermal infra-red observations and modelling, shape modelling, polarimetric observations and albedo determination of NEOs, and general observation on NEOs.
Participants then discussed how to improve the size determination of NEOs and formulated suggestions, guidelines, and actions to work towards being able to better determine the size of NEOs and other asteroids. If and when an asteroid is discovered on a collision course with Earth, these actions will help the community to determine its size more reliably and robustly, thereby allowing relevant actors to take more targeted measures.
Background
NEO is a subcomponent of the Space Situational Awareness (SSA) component of the EU Space Programme. It aims at coordinating and improving European capabilities and activities related to the monitoring of space rocks whose orbits approach or cross the Earth's orbit.
To this end, the EU supports activities that map Member States' capabilities to detect and monitor NEOs, promote networking among Member States' facilities and research centres through a yearly conference, develop a European catalogue of physical properties of NEOs, and develop a routine rapid response service that can characterize newly detected NEOs.
This workshop is an ESA deliverable as part of its Contribution Agreement with DG DEFIS in the implementation of the NEO subcomponent of the EU Space Programme.
More information
Details
- Publication date
- 13 November 2024
- Author
- Directorate-General for Defence Industry and Space