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ESA Plans Test of Asteroid Defense System

Posted by michael on from the jousting-with-ceres dept.

vinlud writes "It has been announced by Dutch television ESA has chosen the Don Quijote programme to investigate the possibilities of altering the collision course of asteroids heading for Earth. The program, selected among five other studies, contains two spacecraft: Hidalgo and Sancho. Hidalgo will impact an asteroid of approximately 500 m diameter at a relative speed of at least 10 km/s while Sancho will retreat to a safe distance to observe the impact. An animation of the mission sequence (6.49 Mb) can be downloaded from here."

3 of 305 comments (clear)

  1. Low expectations? by October_30th · · Score: 5, Insightful
    Do they have low expectations or why is the project named after a fictional character who was rather bonkers and fought windmills?

    "The full original title was El ingenioso hidalgo don Quixote de la Mancha. The adjective "quixotic," meaning "idealistic and impractical," derives from his name, and the expression "tilting at windmills" comes from his story."

    --
    The owls are not what they seem
    1. Re:Low expectations? by joeykiller · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Well, Don Quijote believed he were fighting knights, while he actually was fighting windmillds.

      Most people would say that it would be impossible if not futile to attack windmills and believe you could win over them. But Don Quijote never doubted his abilites, no matter what Sancho Panza thought.

      Maybe this is what ESA has thought about when they named their mission: Keep hope up, no matter how impossible the task seems.

  2. Missing the point by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I can see that most slashdotters are trolling on the actual mission of the spaceships. Their purpose is to impact the asteroid to determine its composition, structure, ect. to then, determine an appropiate course of action.

    And the names do fit. They fit because Don Quijote tried to bring back the idealized lifestyle of chivalry. His desire was to protect the good cause and perhaps slay a dragon or two in the way. He was mocked by people because they believed such perils were nonexistent. Just like we mock this far fetched perhaps, but still necesary project that aims to be our first line of defense in case of a possible, if not improbable event.

    I fail to see how people can criticize this and yet run SETI at home on their computers.

    Godspeed Don Quijote, and Sancho Pansa, I for once, am gratefull of your so much needed lunacy.