Here’s how Nasa has planned the sequence of events to warn people about an NEO posing a serious threat to the inhabitants of Earth:
According to the latest European Space Agency (ESA) predictions, the Earth observation satellite ERS-2 will make an uncontrolled re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere today about 11:32 a.m. EST, with a margin of error of plus or minus 4.6 hours, CBS News reported.
Weighing as much as an adult male rhinoceros, or roughly 5,000 pounds, the satellite’s return is considered “natural” due to low batteries and the shutdown of its communication antenna and onboard electronics, rendering ground control ineffectual during descent.
The decision to deplete ERS-2’s fuel in 2011 was made to reduce the chance of a catastrophic explosion that could result in significant space debris.
Here’s how Nasa has planned the sequence of events to warn people about an NEO posing a serious threat to the inhabitants of Earth:
While the ESA cannot forecast the exact time and position of re-entry, they guarantee that the majority of the satellite will burn up when it re-enters Earth’s atmosphere. Any remaining fragments are expected to fall harmlessly into the water, free of any harmful or radioactive materials.
The Space Agency highlights the low risk connected with space debris, claiming that the annual probability of a person being wounded by such debris is less than 1 in 100 billion, which is nearly 65,000 times lower than the risk of being struck by lightning.
ERS-2, launched in 1995, was an Earth observation spacecraft that collected data on land surfaces, oceans, and polar ice caps.
