India keen to join global missions in defence against asteroids: ISRO chief

Bengaluru: India is keen to collaborate with other spacefaring nations in missions to study asteroids and develop defence systems to counter threats of asteroid impacts on earth, S Somanath, Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), said here on Wednesday.

Speaking at an event to mark the International Asteroid Day, Somanath said global partnerships are critical in addressing the issue since no one nation could lead a defence against asteroids. India has proven capabilities in lunar landing (Chandrayaan-3) and placing a satellite in an orbit around a Lagrangian point (Aditya-L1). “This shows that India has the ability to execute complex missions,” Somanath said.

The ISRO Chairman said these abilities need to be used in missions that involve landing of instruments on asteroids to study them. He said India could start by collaborating with nations that have already undertaken similar missions. India should also participate in global missions aimed at meeting the 1,000-foot-wide asteroid Apophis, when it gets closest to earth (within 48,000 km), on April 13, 2029, he said.

Setting the tone for a workshop on planetary defence hosted by ISRO, Somanath said while asteroids, moving at tremendous velocities, do pose potential impact threats, closer studies of these bodies could throw up invaluable insights into the evolution of the universe.

Later, speaking with reporters, Somanath said preparations are on for an unmanned mission under ISRO’s human spaceflight programme, Gaganyaan, by December 2024. The second test vehicle abort mission and the pad abort test are also being planned.

Asteroid Day is observed every year to commemorate a June 30, 1908 air blast from an asteroid that destroyed about 2,200 sq km of forest in Tunguska in Siberia, Russia. The workshop featured technical talks by experts involved in missions by the European Space Agency and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.