Sandia researchers speed up asteroid deflection modelling and find shape and orientation matter more

Sandia researchers, led by Nathan Moore, coupled the ALEGRA radiation-hydrodynamics code, used for dense regions and surface vaporisation, with the SPARTA rarefied-gas code, used for dilute regions, to model X-ray-driven nuclear deflection of irregular asteroids. The authors report a speed-up of over 1,600 times versus earlier methods. Simulations of Golevka, Bennu and Itokawa showed up to a fivefold difference in velocity change depending on the irradiated side, and nearly twofold for Bennu. The paper notes that accurate prediction also requires knowledge of composition and internal structure. No CVEs or defensive actions are relevant.

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