NASA and the High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program have completed an experiment aimed at understanding the interior of an asteroid in hopes of supporting efforts to develop a potential defense against near-Earth objects that could pose a risk to Earth.
During the study, HAARP transmitted long wavelength radio signals into space that bounced off the surface of 2010 XC15, the asteroid that passes by Earth at two lunar distances and is estimated to be about 500 feet across, the Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska Fairbanks said Thursday.
“We will be analyzing the data over the next few weeks and hope to publish the results in the coming months,” said Mark Haynes, lead investigator on the project and a radar systems engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
“This shows the value of HAARP as a potential future research tool for the study of near-Earth objects,” Haynes added.
The Soccorro-adjacent University of New Mexico Long Wavelength Array and the Bishop, California-adjacent Owens Valley Radio Observatory Long Wavelength Array also participated in the experiment.
The University of Alaska Fairbanks is responsible for operating HAARP through an agreement with the U.S. Air Force.
