
DART
ESA & NASA
While SOLAR is a prediction of future asteroid defence, the current defence programme is extremely cool.
The KIT approach (Kinetic Impactor Technique) was used by the NASA DART project in 2022. This method crashed a satellite into an asteroid to alter its orbital trajectory. Click here to find out more information about DART and how you can become a Planetary Defender!
DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test) was a huge achievement in planetary defence, but it has limitations. This style of redirection only works with smaller asteroids. Therefore, NASA and other space agencies are developing theories to upscale the approach. This is where the novel SOLAR takes its ideas from, using DART and proposed theoretical plans to create the missions you see in the novel. In the book, a joint NASA and ESA-funded project began to upscale the response. In 2028, ISRO joined the project, followed by Roscosmos and CNSA in 2031 after the detection of Viatrix by Dr Heike Bartal. The SOLAR response was then fast-tracked when ICERN officially formed, with it playing a pivotal role in the SEIA missions.
Check out this link to the BBC where they explain DART in more detail or watch NASA explain the science below.


