Sentinel Mission Director Harold Reitsema at the 4th IAA Planetary Science Conference in Frascati, Italy
The 4th IAA Planetary Defense Conference (PDC), sponsored by the International Academy of Astronautics, will be held April 13-17, 2015 in Frascati, Italy. This year's conference theme is "Assessing Impact Risk & Managing Response." This conference brings together the world’s experts in all aspects of defending the world from asteroid and comet impact.
 At the PDC, our own Mission Director Dr. Harold Reitsema presented a paper highlighting some exciting new results from our analysis of how the Sentinel Space Telescope will perform. Authored by Sentinel Mission Scientist Dr. Marc Buie, this study describes the computer model of Sentinel’s intended operation, including all of the physical parameters that control our ability to detect and track Near Earth Objects (NEOs).
In our continued process of refining the performance specifications for the Sentinel Space Telescope, Dr. Buie tested several orbits to optimize Sentinel’s ability to detect potential Earth-impacting NEOs. Our model continues to verify our previous assumption that Sentinel is twice as effective at finding these NEOs from an inside-track orbit near Venus, rather than if Sentinel was orbiting the Sun near Earth. This positioning means that we will discover NEOs early, giving us additional time to plan for deflection to prevent disaster. Dr. Buie’s model incorporates the most up-to-date understanding of the numbers and orbits of NEOs based on the orbits for the NEOs already discovered.
In addition to discussion on a wide range of topics (that include Planetary Defense, Recent Progress & Plans, NEO Discovery, NEO Characterization, Mitigation Techniques & Missions, Impact Effects that Inform Warning, Mitigation & Costs, Consequence Management & Education), a hypothetical asteroid impact scenario will be presented and used as a basis for discussion. Please note that this scenario is completely speculative and does NOT describe a real potential asteroid impact (read more about the entire scenario here). This informative, fictional exercise will allow participants to simulate the anticipated decision-making process for developing deflection and civil defense responses to a hypothetical asteroid threat.
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