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Hyper-velocity Asteroid Mitigation Mission for Emergency Response (HAMMER) is a concept study by NASA on a spacecraft (8 tonnes) capable of detonating a nuclear bomb to deflect an asteroid, if it was on a collision course to Earth. The study is a collaboration between the National Nuclear Security Administration, NASA, and two Energy Department weapons labs.

Bennu

NASA is working on a modelling study that considers the asteroid 101955 Bennu, which has a diameter of 246 meters and capable of a 1.15 gigaton impact, as a modelling target for the HAMMER concept. It is circling the Sun at 63,000 mph and 54 million miles from the Earth.

The two realistic responses considered in the study are the use of a spacecraft functioning as either a kinetic impactor or a nuclear explosive carrier to deflect the approaching asteroid.

See also

• Asteroid impact avoidance
• Planetary defense

References

1. Khartoum, Sarah (15 March 2018). "Nasa draws up plans for huge spacecraft to blow up doomsday asteroid". The Telegraph. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
2. Vergano, Dan (7 March 2018). "Government Scientists Have A Plan For Blowing Up Asteroids With A Nuke". BuzzFeed. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
3. Parsons, Jeff (16 March 2018). "NASA building 'HAMMER' spacecraft to save Earth from cataclysmic asteroid impact". Mirror. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
4. Whitwam, Ryan (9 March 2018). "NASA Designs HAMMER Spacecraft to Deflect or Nuke Dangerous Asteroids". ExtremeTech. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
5. Vergano, Dan (7 March 2018). "Government Scientists Have A Plan For Blowing Up Asteroids With A Nuke". BuzzFeed. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
6. "NASA May Build 'HAMMER' Spacecraft To Blow Up Earth-Bound Asteroid". NDTV. 16 March 2018. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
7. Barbee, Brent W.; Syal, Megan Bruck; Dearborn, David; Gisler, Galen; Greenaugh, Kevin; Howley, Kirsten M.; Leung, Ron; Lyzhoft, Josh; Miller, Paul L.; Nuth, Joseph A.; Plesko, Catherine; Seery, Bernard D.; Wasem, Joseph; Weaver, Robert P.; Zebenay, Melak (2018). "Options and uncertainties in planetary defense: Mission planning and vehicle design for flexible response". Acta Astronautica. 143: 37–61. Bibcode:2018AcAau.143...37B. doi:10.1016/j.actaastro.2017.10.021.

v t e Spacecraft missions to minor planets and comets
List of minor planets and comets visited by spacecraft List of artificial objects on extraterrestrial surfaces
Active	New Horizons (multiple flybys) OSIRIS-APEX (orbiter) Hayabusa2♯ (lander) Lucy (multiple flybys) Psyche (orbiter) Hera (orbiter) AIDA
Past	Flybys Cassini–Huygens Chang'e 2 Clementine CONTOUR Deep Impact EPOXI Deep Space 1 Galileo Halley Armada Giotto Sakigake Suisei Vega 1 Vega 2 International Cometary Explorer LICIACube NEA Scout NEAR Shoemaker Pioneer 7 PROCYON Rosetta Stardust Ulysses Orbiters Dawn NEAR Shoemaker Rosetta Timeline Landers Hayabusa MINERVA Hayabusa2 MASCOT Rover-1A / HIBOU Rover-1B / OWL Rover-2 NEAR Shoemaker Philae Impactors Deep Impact DART AIDA Sample return Hayabusa Hayabusa2 Stardust OSIRIS-REx
Planned	Tianwen-2 (multiple flybys and sample return, 2025) DESTINY+ (multiple flybys, 2028) MBR Explorer (multiple flybys and orbiter, 2028) Comet Interceptor (flyby, 2029)
Proposed	Shensuo (flybys, 2024) ASTER (orbiter, 2025) Ramses (2029) Interstellar Probe (flyby, 2030–2042)
Cancelled or not developed	AGORA AIM Asteroid Redirect Mission Athena CAESAR Castalia Centaurus Chimera Clementine 2 Comet Hopper CONDOR CORSAIR CRAF Don Quijote HAMMER Hayabusa Mk2 Janus MAOSEP MANTIS Marco Polo New Horizons 2 OKEANOS Vesta
Related	Asteroid belt Asteroid capture Asteroid mining Colonization of asteroids Ceres Pluto Exploration Small Solar System bodies Near-Earth object Trans-Neptunian object Colonization Trojan Vesta
Probes are listed in chronological order of launch. indicates mission failures.

• Planetary defense
• Proposed NASA space probes
• Missions to asteroids
• Impactor spacecraft