The possibility of an asteroid or comet hitting Earth and causing major damage is more than a movie plot – it’s a true possibility. That’s why ARCS Illinois Scholar Rahil Makadia focuses his PhD research in Aerospace Engineering on planetary defense. His specific work is improving the kinetic impact method to deflect these objects.

Makadia explains that defending our planet “involves sending a spacecraft to hit the potentially hazardous object and alter its trajectory so it misses the Earth. As of now, the kinetic impact method is the only proven way of protecting the Earth from such impacts.”

At the University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign, he focuses on making future kinetic impact efforts safer by helping pick specific impact sites on the asteroid (as opposed to simply aiming for the center). “This way, we can ensure that a specific asteroid does not return on an impacting path, and we don't have to do multiple impact missions for the same object every few decades,” he says. 

Makadia created software created for his dissertation work, Gauss-Radau Small-body Stimulator, or GRSS (Pronounced as grass). It determines the motion of these asteroids and comets from telescope observations. “It can also be used to predict the position of these objects in the future,” Makida states.

As a recipient of a NASA Space Technology Research Opportunities Fellowship, he was paired with an expert in the field, Dr. Steven Chesley, at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). “This has been an excellent opportunity to learn the tools of the asteroid impact monitoring trade.” His thesis advisor, Dr. Siegfried Eggl, has also worked at JPL.

Makadia follows advances in planetary defense. NASA launched and successfully conducted the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) a few years ago. The project was NASA’s first planetary defense test mission that demonstrated the kinetic impact method of asteroid deflection. “NASA’s next planetary defense mission is called NEO Surveyor,” Makadia says. “This project aims to search for new asteroids, some of which could potentially impact Earth.” The long-term project will identify now unknown hazardous objects.

The ARCS scholar award is a “game changer,” Makadia says. “In my case, it has enabled me to attend conferences and meet other researchers in my field.”

He says his interest in aerospace comes from a broader desire to explore life. Days ago, he climbed Half Dome in Yosemite National Park. He considers aerospace and planetary defense a perfect frontier for exploration.

Makadia reminds us, “Thankfully, no known asteroids have a significant chance of impacting the Earth and disrupting human life in the near future, so we can all sleep easy tonight.”