Researchers at the University of Edinburgh work in an extraordinary range of space-related activities: engineers are developing deep-space probes; chemists are developing clean-burn rocket fuels; and astronomers are tracking the skies for space debris.
One of the University’s leading researchers in this area is Professor Colin Snodgrass, Personal Chair of Planetary Astronomy at the Institute for Astronomy. Professor Snodgrass has been involved in National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and European Space Agency (ESA) missions for over 15 years, and his expertise is being used to help bolster planetary defences in several international, world-first missions.
Scanning the skies
Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) was NASA’s first-ever mission dedicated to investigating and demonstrating one method of asteroid deflection by changing an asteroid’s trajectory through kinetic impact. The mission targeted the asteroid Dimorphos, and Professor Snodgrass was involved in characterising the asteroid before and after the impact, to measure how effective the experiment was.
DART launched in 2021, and before it had reached impact in 2022 Professor Snodgrass had become an integral part of ESA’s Hera mission, which will perform a detailed post-impact survey of the same asteroid targeted by DART with the aim of turning the experiment into a well-understood and repeatable planetary defence technique.
Professor Snodgrass is co-chairing a Hera working group that provides ground- and space-based telescopic observations of the aftermath of the impact of Dimorphos to support strategic preparations for future missions. The Hera mission is scheduled for launch in October 2024, and will be humankind’s first probe to rendezvous with a binary asteroid system.
The launch of the Hera mission is very exciting, for planetary defence, asteroid science, and technology development. As well as giving us a detailed ‘crash scene investigation’ to understand the results of the DART experiment, Hera tests a lot of new technologies. One that has a lot of potential is the use of CubeSats in deep space - this is the first time ESA tries this. These small satellites are a game changer for space exploration."
Planetary Defender
Professor Snodgrass has cemented his credentials as a planetary
defender with another ESA mission, Comet Interceptor; which will travel
to an as-yet undiscovered ‘pristine’ comet when it approaches Earth’s
orbit and observe it using three spacecraft to compose a 3D profile. All
comets that have been encountered by spacecraft so far have been
short-period comets, i.e. objects that have approached the Sun many
times, and so have undergone changes on their surfaces, erasing their
original appearance and make-up.
Pristine comets, by contrast, are entering the inner Solar System for the first time, which means they will contain material that has not undergone much processing since the dawn of the Sun and planets. A true, pristine comet has yet to be encountered and explored, so the Comet Interceptor mission will provide valuable new insights into the evolution of comets and the origins of our Solar System.
Professor Snodgrass is an interdisciplinary scientist on the mission,
and leads the team responsible for identifying the rare, pristine comet
target. As a Principal Investigator at the University of Edinburgh, Professor Snodgrass has access to
world-class facilities, including the Very Large Telescope at the
European Southern Observatory, the James Webb Space Telescope and the
Higgs Centre for Innovation.
The Higgs Centre brings together leading-edge research in astronomy
and particle physics and the unique instrumentation expertise that underpins
it, with business incubation facilities and laboratories that are
equipped to support companies working in space-related industries and
big data analytics.
The Comet Interceptor mission will launch in 2029, but the University of Edinburgh and Edinburgh Innovations, the University’s commercialisation service, are ready now to accelerate the translation of the University’s cutting-edge Space and Satellite research for industry, governments and NGOs.
Hazards and opportunities
Asteroids, as potential hazards, are also can be considered as a future resource for mining as we explore the Solar System. As the Earth’s resources are finite, the idea of extracting valuable elements from asteroids and returning them to Earth, or to space habitats become attractive. The relative abundance of asteroidal ore gives asteroid mining the potential to provide nearly unlimited resources, which could essentially eliminate scarcity for critical materials. Water splitting from asteroidal ice into hydrogen and oxygen could refuel orbiting propellant depots to replenish satellites and spacecrafts.
Asteroid mining is a future technology to enable space resources to eliminate materials scarcity. As the cost of extracting mineral resources, especially platinum group metals, on Earth rises, the cost of extracting the same resources from celestial bodies declines due to technological innovations around space exploration.
The expertise of the group of Professor Snodgrass in ground- and space-based telescopic observations of rocky celestial bodies is the key to identify asteroids suitable for mining and mining – the initial steps to realise space mining technology.
