ESA selects asteroid targets for Don Quijote mission
The European Space Agency (ESA) has selected two target asteroids for its Near-Earth Object (NEO) deflecting mission, Don Quijote. The asteroids' temporary designations are 2002 AT4 and 1989 ML. The Don Quijote mission is a first step in the development of a system to protect the planet from NEO impacts through human intervention. The mission is designed to validate the concept and technology on a harmless asteroid, in preparation for a potential 'live' mission at some point in the future. Don Quijote is being overseen by ESA's Advanced Concepts Team (ACT), which has completed an extensive assessment of mission architectures, launch strategies, propulsion system options and experiments. ESA has also invited European aeronautics companies to submit proposals for possible designs for the two spacecraft - Hidalgo and Sancho - that will respectively impact the asteroid and observe it before and after the collision. In choosing the two asteroids, ESA's scientists went for those that represent the best possible compromise among the all the various selection criteria, such as orbit, velocity, shape, size and brightness. A decision on which of the two asteroids will be Hidalgo and Sancho's final destination will be taken in 2007. Most experts now agree that the ability to track and deflect Earth-threatening asteroids is within our reach, making it one of the few natural disasters that technology can prevent.