This area will cover relevant news of the threat to the planet from Near Earth Objects (NEOs) including concepts and designs for mitigation. All opinions are those of the author.

20 March 2010

Apophis Exploration and Mitigation Platform (AEMP)

The AEMP is a Apophis mission design. They have a LEO demonstrator they are working on with King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST). KACST is involved through a US$1M proposal to help develop the LEO demonstrator (more on AEMP website). From the AEMP website...

The Apophis Exploration and Mitigation Platform (AEMP) mission is to study the physical characteristics and accurately determine the trajectory of the NEA Apophis 99942 in order to determine the probability of an Earth impact in 2036 and mitigte the probability of that impact and future impacts by applying short term and long-term mitigation techniques.

The AEMP mission is a collaboration between four groups. The TAMU Apophis Study Group consists of graduate students developing the payload and mission concept. The undergraduate AERO 426 program, part of the Learning Through Research program at Texas A&M, is responsible for the preliminary design of a LEO flight test of the albedo change payload. NASA Ames Research Center is providing technical expertise and mission control aspects. The King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) will be responsible for the spacecraft bus and integration.

Link: Apophis Exploration and Mitigation Platform (AEMP) Homepage

Link: AEMP Graduate Student Shen Ge Homepage (additional documents)

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