From our friends at the MIT Club of Washington DC...

An asteroid's path has been successfully changed in DART - the Double Asteroid Redirection Test. This test showed how an asteroid could be prevented from hitting earth by sending a spacecraft to move it. In this case it was a binary asteroid system. The DART spacecraft moved one of the asteroids, causing the asteroids to have a slightly altered path.
This technique could save our planet someday.

Our speaker is Andy Rivkin, Planetary Astronomer at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. Rivkin graduated from MIT in 1991 with an undergrad degree in Course 12 (Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences). He also holds a PhD in Planetary Sciences from the University of Arizona. He is the Investigation Lead for DART. He runs a study for NASA on exploration of asteroids. He serves on several teams that study ways to reduce problems from potential asteroid impacts on Earth, as well as near-infrared spectroscopy and spectrophotometry of asteroids. To commemorate his work, Asteroid 13743 has been named for him.

Location Details: Our dinner includes salmon, salads, pasta, and desserts with a family style buffet at each table. The location is a block south of the DC/Maryland boundary line, right at the Friendship Heights Metro station on the Red Line. If you choose to drive, there is convenient basement parking right in the building, that is low priced. There is even a reduction from the parking charge for those of us that come to the restaurant..

Pricing: $45 per person

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Questions: Robert Hershey roberthershey@alum.mit.edu