Gravity tractor

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A gravity tractor (GT) is a hypothetical spaceship that would divert another object in space, such as an asteroid dangerous to Earth , without having to physically touch it, simply by using the gravitational field between the two bodies as a "tow rope". It could serve as a planetary defense .

functionality

The tiny gravitational force of a nearby space vehicle can, under certain conditions, be sufficient to change the trajectory of a much larger asteroid. For this it is necessary that the vehicle spends enough time in its vicinity, i.e. that it reaches it as early as possible at a point as far away from the earth as possible.

The tractor spaceship could either fly to the side of the asteroid to be deflected in order to deflect its orbit by a small factor, or orbiting it flying ahead, whereby it accelerates the asteroid on its existing orbit by a tiny factor. In both cases, the tractor spaceship needs constant propulsion to counteract the asteroid's gravitational pull. The ejected support mass must not come into direct contact with the asteroid, which is why circling behind the object, which would slow it down, is not a sensible scenario. When circling in front of the asteroid, the ejection would have to be directed almost perpendicular to the plane of the orbit, depending on the speed.

The concept has the disadvantage that it requires planning and time for the flight to the asteroid. Its advantage is that it could basically work and nothing has to be learned about the composition, structure and rotation of the object. While other methods of asteroid impact avoidance would require determining the exact center of mass of the asteroid and stopping its rotation, such considerations are irrelevant with the tractor method. In addition, the comparatively small forces that are used enable extremely precise manipulation of the asteroid orbit around the sun.

and display information about the image

A spaceship that does not orbit around, but next to or in front of an asteroid (for which it needs a constant drive against the attraction of the asteroid) exerts a constant, tiny force of attraction on the asteroid (green arrow).

See also

• NEOShield

Web links

• Distraction through attraction scinexx.de
• Optimal Control of Gravity-Tractor Spacecraft for Asteroid Deflection esa.int

Individual evidence

1. ^ Edward T. Lu, Stanley G. Love: Gravitational tractor for towing asteroids . In: Nature . tape 438 , no. 7065 , November 10, 2005, p. 177-178 , doi : 10.1038 / 438177a .
2. ↑ DK Yeomans, et al .: Using a Gravity Tractor to Help Mitigate Asteroid Collisions with Earth (PDF) 2005.