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How cool would it be if we had probes like Hayabusa or Osiris-Rex ready to go for encounters like this? ʻOumuamua would have been a long shot but this rock see

How cool would it be if we had probes like Hayabusa or Osiris-Rex ready to go for encounters like this? ʻOumuamua would have been a long shot but this rock seems within reach.

airstrike 6y ago
Also how about we leave some instrument on the rock even after it departs? Would be interesting to track where it went next
- TeMPOraL 6y ago
  Generally there's little point in doing that, unless you want to study the body itself or otherwise care about its presence. That's because to rendezvous with something in space you need to get close to it and bring your velocity relative to it to zero - which puts you on the exact same orbit, so even without attaching to it, you'll go where it goes.
  - black_puppydog 6y ago
    Also, at 2m diameter, its gravity would be so low that "leaving" a probe on it would mean strapping the probe to it? That would be a funny tech demo for catching a small rock, but if you already do that, why not put it into a stable orbit for further study?
  - m4rtink 6y ago
    Also landing something on a space rock might not be a huge win from just leaving it in orbit. You see, even if you manage to attach yorself to the thing (and the Philae lander of the Rosetta mission demonstrated is's not easy), the thing usually rotates with one revolution every couple hours. So unlike a cosy stable state vacuum of space with sun in one direction to point the solar panels and Earth in another where you point the antennas, you are now sitting an a pice of material that can freeze you/cook you by convection & Sun an Earth continually change position. Also unlike with a space probe that can have a hot (in the sun) and cold (in the shadow) sides, now you need to handle temperature management from multiple constantly changing angles. Fun! Thats why we don't regularly communicate with NEAR Shoemaker or Rosetta even though both landed on a space rock - they are simply no longer in a working order. That doesn't mean it's impossible - you just need to use a rather more complicated spacecraft for that, than just trying to land a space probe.
- amelius 6y ago
  I think the problem is that the rock is at its highest speed whenever it is near Earth (see animation in the article).

How cool would it be if we had probes like Hayabusa or Osiris-Rex ready to go for encounters like this? ʻOumuamua would have been a long shot but this rock seems within reach.

airstrike 6y ago

Also how about we leave some instrument on the rock even after it departs? Would be interesting to track where it went next

TeMPOraL 6y ago
Generally there's little point in doing that, unless you want to study the body itself or otherwise care about its presence. That's because to rendezvous with something in space you need to get close to it and bring your velocity relative to it to zero - which puts you on the exact same orbit, so even without attaching to it, you'll go where it goes.
- black_puppydog 6y ago
  Also, at 2m diameter, its gravity would be so low that "leaving" a probe on it would mean strapping the probe to it? That would be a funny tech demo for catching a small rock, but if you already do that, why not put it into a stable orbit for further study?
- m4rtink 6y ago
  Also landing something on a space rock might not be a huge win from just leaving it in orbit. You see, even if you manage to attach yorself to the thing (and the Philae lander of the Rosetta mission demonstrated is's not easy), the thing usually rotates with one revolution every couple hours. So unlike a cosy stable state vacuum of space with sun in one direction to point the solar panels and Earth in another where you point the antennas, you are now sitting an a pice of material that can freeze you/cook you by convection & Sun an Earth continually change position. Also unlike with a space probe that can have a hot (in the sun) and cold (in the shadow) sides, now you need to handle temperature management from multiple constantly changing angles. Fun! Thats why we don't regularly communicate with NEAR Shoemaker or Rosetta even though both landed on a space rock - they are simply no longer in a working order. That doesn't mean it's impossible - you just need to use a rather more complicated spacecraft for that, than just trying to land a space probe.
amelius 6y ago
I think the problem is that the rock is at its highest speed whenever it is near Earth (see animation in the article).