In this special issue, NEC takes a look at how DX is making an impact on social infrastructure. We also introduce our R & D in the infrastructure technology that can help shape the future.
Japan’s Hayabusa2 probe on Friday launched an explosive device at an asteroid to shed light on how the solar system evolved. This was also aimed to blast a crater in the surface and aimed at revealing more about the origins of life on Earth. The Hayabusa2 mission, which costs around 30 billion yen (USD 260 million), was launched in December 2014 and will return to Earth with its samples in 2020. Hayabusa2, about the size of a large fridge and equipped with solar panels, is the successor to JAX
Earthlings often get nervous (or get their hopes up) about asteroids careening towards Earth. Such is the case this week, as headlines trumpet the danger of a “potentially hazardous” asteroid the size of the Space Needle along with four other space rocks. Fortunately for the worry-warts and unfortunately for nihilists around the world, the latest crop of Near Earth Objects are not the threats to ending life as we know it the headlines make them out to be.
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The next five asteroid appearances noted on NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory website include rocks ranging from the size of a small house to that of London’s St. Paul’s Cathedral. But their approaches are “near” on an entirely different scale than the one you might be familiar with. The biggest asteroid, known as 2021 KT1, is expected to pass within 4.6 million miles (7.4 million kilometers) of Earth, posing no risk whatsoever. For comparison, theMoon is about 239,000 miles (384,633 kilometers) away.