Space/Science — HabitableZone

Space/Science » in reply to My question when the object was first observed:

Tagging an asteroid
Tom Brosz — (archived)

A possible short-term program that could help keep track of likely colliders might be to launch a simple lander probe, solar or nuclear, with its prime payload being a transmitter that would allow extremely precise tracking of the asteroid. If the power supply is nuclear, such tracking could extend far beyond the asteroid's visible range, if this was an issue. Obviously, scientists would also try to load this probe with as much scientific instrumentation as they could sneak onboard.

The total mission cost for NEAR was about $224 million, including $124.9 million for spacecraft development, $44.6 million for launch support and tracking, and $54.6 million for mission operations and data analysis. Cheap for a space mission, but still a hefty load of cash. One would assume the spacecraft could be done cheaper, and a barebones science package would reduce other costs. There may be other cost-reduction methods as well. Designing the probe as an impactor might reduce costs and delta-v requirements, but in my opinion would increase chances of failure.

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