J002E3 is an asteroid that in 2002 literally blew up part of the media. Sensational headlines attracted attention and promised a lot of interesting information. Titles of articles like “Our planet has a second satellite!” and “An asteroid is approaching Earth!” met for some time both in print media and on the open spaces of the network. However, the storm subsided pretty quickly. What it was, and what trail J002E3 (asteroid) left behind, is discussed below.
Opening facility
As you know, astronomy is one of the few sciences in which the need for the tireless activity of amateurs has remained. Many discoveries have been made possible thanks to the vigilance of people who consider sky observation to be their hobby. So it was this time.
An amateur astronomer from California, Bill Jung, discovered a previously unseen body in low Earth orbit. He considered the object the second satellite of our planet, about which he hastened to inform his fellow professionals. It happened on September 3, 2002. The object in the Center for Minor Planets was assigned the number J002E3. The asteroid immediately became the center of heated debate among scientists.
Features of the new satellite
The flight path of the object was evaluated. It turned out that it is almost twice as far from the Earth as the Moon. With a maximum approach to the planet, J002E3 is 300 thousand kilometers away from it, with a minimum of 840. An asteroid spends about fifty days on one revolution around our planet.
This cosmic body differs from the moon in size. One of the first estimates of the dimensions of the asteroid characterized it as a 50-meter-diameter object. All these data suggested that the alleged second natural satellite of the Earth is actually of artificial origin.
Scientific interest
Due to the peculiarities of the gravitational interaction of the Moon and our planet, any objects that fall into near-Earth orbit are pushed out of it after some time. Therefore, the researchers made a logical assumption that the asteroid entered a similar flight path recently. And this was of almost greater importance to astronomers than the origin of J002E3. The asteroid, according to scientists, was captured by the gravitational field of our planet around April-May 2002, that is, shortly before the discovery.
It is the mechanism by which a third-party space object falls into near-Earth orbit that causes strong interest among astronomers. The fact is that it plays a decisive role when large bodies such as the moon fall into this zone. Until now, scientists have not had the opportunity to get so close to testing their own hypothesis of gravitational capture of the satellite. Similar events in the entire scientific history have not yet happened.
Natural or artificial
As for the origin of the newly-launched satellite, possible versions were discussed for some time, but experts quickly came to a common conclusion rather quickly. Asteroid J002E3 was recognized as the third stage of the Saturn-5 launch vehicle, which carried away the Apollo 12 spacecraft from Earth. Presumably, most of the time since 1969, when it was in open space, a step circled in orbit around the Sun and only on the eve of the discovery, as already noted, was captured by Earth's gravity.
Detailed research
Soon, the opinion of scientists was supported by evidence. Arizona State University specialists used spectral analysis to obtain detailed information about the object. After analyzing the light reflected from J002E3, they came to the conclusion that there are traces of titanium oxide on the surface of the cosmic body. It was this compound that was contained in the white paint, which covered the body of the Saturn-5 launch vehicle. Researchers obtained similar results after studying the object with the help of an infrared telescope.
A bit of history
It is worth stopping at what the Apollo program was like. This project, which culminated in one of the most significant events in the history of space exploration, was developed by NASA. The program’s ambitious goal was a manned moon landing. The Apollo program, adopted in 1961, was implemented over several years and ended in 1975. The first successful moon landing, which was of great international importance, was made in 1969. The astronauts who then stepped on the surface of the satellite of our planet were Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. Delivered them to the moon "Apollo 11". Then five more spacecraft were lowered onto the satellite by astronauts .
The project is still unsurpassed. In the history of space exploration, there were no longer successfully implemented programs for manned landing of people at an object similar to the satellite of our planet. Among the achievements of the project:
- Apollo 8 is the ship that was the first to enter the orbit of a space object that is not Earth;
- six moon landings;
- Apollo 17 is the last spacecraft to date, which delivered astronauts to the satellite of our planet.
Launch vehicle
As you know, spaceships of the Apollo type are delivered using special vehicles. And here the Saturn 5 mentioned above enters the stage. This booster rocket participated in sending all the Apollo ships to the moon, and was later used for the Skylab and Soyuz Apollo projects. The apparatus consisted of three stages, sequentially switched on and thereby giving the ship the necessary acceleration. The third stage worked twice: after turning off the second and after some time after entering orbit. At the end of its mission, the third stage of all the vehicles up to Apollo 13 was put into orbit around the sun.
The asteroid J002E3, which excited astronomers in the fall of 2002, turned out to be the third stage of one of such launch vehicles. According to experts, most likely it was the Saturn 5 that delivered the second expedition to the moon (Apollo 12 crew).
Flight path
Another evidence in favor of the similar origin of the "second satellite" was the path that he had overcome before entering the Earth's orbit. Researchers suggest that the object was in heliocentric orbit for approximately thirty years. As a result of its proximity to the flight path of our planet, the asteroid J002E3 was captured by Earth's gravity and began to rotate around it.
In 2002-2003, an asteroid flew past the Earth several times. Some scientists assumed that he would end his journey by falling to the moon, where the third stages of launch vehicles that had delivered Apollo spacecraft from 13 to 17 had already “landed”. However, this did not happen: the object was pushed out of orbit. Presumably, he will return to Earth in 2032.
Non hazard
When reports appear in the media that an asteroid is flying to Earth, an ordinary person immediately wonders what the consequences will be if he reaches, and vivid pictures of general disaster are drawn in his head. In the case of J002E3, fears were in vain. The sizes of the launch vehicle stage are relatively small: mass - 20 tons, length about 18 m and diameter - 6.6 m. People who are professionally engaged in astronomy know that if an asteroid with similar dimensions is approaching Earth, there is nothing to fear: it will burn in the upper layers of the atmosphere. So it would be this time if the object J002E3 fell on our planet.
Space debris problem
The situation with the Saturn-5 launch vehicle stage is not unique. Similar near-Earth objects periodically appear in the center of scientific discussions. As a rule, they come up in connection with the problem of low orbit trash around our planet. For a relatively short period of rapid development of astronautics, people managed to leave a fairly large number of "bits" of various ships and rockets. Scientists came to the conclusion that the problem is already becoming critical, since such a volume of space debris near the Earth threatens both satellites and other launched vehicles, and the ecology of the planet.
Today, various strategies are being developed for clearing the space of low Earth orbit. One of the active promoters of extraterrestrial "cleaning", an employee of the Johnson Space Center Yer-Chu Liu, urges colleagues to launch an international campaign to clean the near-Earth space. He convincingly enough argues that this is not an ordinary problem that may require as much effort and money as no single country has. The scientist suggests that the project to collect and destroy space debris can become a truly difficult technical and organizational task, and its implementation - one of the most serious achievements of mankind.
Ideas
Among the discussed near-Earth space cleaning projects, there are a variety of solutions to the problem. These include designs similar to fishnets and resembling a soap bubble. Laser cannons are also available as a way to combat debris. Yer-Chu Liu notes that the choice of a specific method for implementing the program depends entirely on the priority tasks that have yet to be determined. The greatest danger, according to scientists, is the largest fragments. Preliminary estimates show that to quickly and efficiently clean the space near our planet, you need to clean about five such objects annually.
Today, space debris continues to circle in low Earth orbit, representing a potential threat to operational satellites and launched rockets. Numerous projects to clean the space surrounding our planet are under development. So, it is quite possible, more than once in the news messages about objects like J002E3 will flicker. However, increasing attention to the problem of orbital debris suggests that the necessary measures will be taken soon.