Dealing with threatening space rocks

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The key moment of the Don Quijote mission: the Impactor spacecraft (Hidalgo) smashes into the asteroid while observed from a safe distance by the Orbiter spacecraft (Sancho) Credits: ESA - AOES Medialab
The key moment of the Don Quijote mission: the Impactor spacecraft (Hidalgo) smashes into the asteroid while observed, from a safe distance, by the Orbiter spacecraft (Sancho) Credits: ESA - AOES Medialab

Every now and then a space rock hits the world's media – sometimes almost literally. Threatening asteroids that zoom past the Earth, fireballs in the sky seen by hundreds of people and mysterious craters which may have been caused by impacting meteorites; all make ESA's planned mission Don Quijote look increasingly timely.


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All News summaries for September 20, 2007

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5 hours ago | User rating: not rated yet
Research presented at a recent astronomical conference is being hailed as ushering in a new era in the search for Earth-like planets by showing that they are more numerous than previously thought and that ...

'Impressionist' Spacecraft to View Solar System's Invisible Frontier

6 hours ago | User rating: not rated yet
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6 hours ago | User rating: not rated yet
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Partial Solar Eclipse visible from the UK on the morning of 1st August

11 hours ago | User rating: not rated yet
On 1st August 2008 there will be a total eclipse of the Sun, visible from Canada, northern Greenland, Svalbard, the Barents Sea, Russia, Mongolia and China. From the whole of the British Isles observers will see a partial ...

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Jul 25, 2008 | User rating: not rated yet
Critical food shortages and growing demand for bio-fuels and hydro-electricity due to high fossil fuel prices rank among the greatest threats today to the preservation of precious wetlands worldwide as farmers and developers ...
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