Planetary defenders validate asteroid deflection code

LIVERMORE – Planetary defense researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory continue to validate their ability to accurately simulate how they might deflect an Earth-bound asteroid in a study that will be published in the April issue of the American Geophysical Union journal Earth and Space Science.

The study, led by LLNL physicist Tané Remington, also identified sensitivities in the code parameters that can help researchers working to design a modeling plan for the Double Asteroid Redirection Test mission in 2021, which will be the first-ever kinetic impact deflection demonstration on...