NEO Tracker ,Asteroid Impact Simulator ΓÇö NASA Space Apps 2025 Project

A full-stack web application that visualizes near-Earth asteroid orbits, simulates impact scenarios, and explores mitigation strategies. Built for Hackathon 2025.

🎯 Problem Statement

Near-Earth Asteroid "Impactor-2025" may threaten Earth. This tool helps scientists and the public understand:

• Orbital mechanics and asteroid trajectories
• Impact consequences including crater size, blast zones, and seismic effects
• Mitigation strategies like kinetic impactors and gravity tractors

✨ Features

1. NASA API Integration 🛰️

• Fetches live Near-Earth Object (NEO) data
• Real-time asteroid size, velocity, and trajectory information
• Filters potentially hazardous asteroids

2. Physics Engine 🔬

• Impact energy calculation: E = 0.5 * m * v┬▓
• Crater size and depth estimation
• Blast radius zones (fireball, total destruction, severe/moderate damage)
• Seismic effects (Richter magnitude)
• TNT equivalent energy comparison

3. 3D Orbit Visualization 🌌

• Interactive Three.js visualization
• Shows asteroid orbit around the Sun
• Earth position and relative distances
• Animated asteroid approach
• Real-time deflection effects

4. Impact Map 🗺️

• Interactive Leaflet.js map
• Click to set custom impact locations
• Crater visualization
• Color-coded damage zones
• Thermal radiation radius
• Seismic impact areas

5. Mitigation Simulator 🚀

• Kinetic Impactor: High-speed spacecraft collision
• Gravity Tractor: Slow gravitational deflection
• Nuclear Deflection: Last-resort option
• Real-time effectiveness calculations
• Dynamic orbit path updates

📦 Tech Stack

Backend (Django + Python)

• Django 4.2 - Web framework
• Django REST Framework - API endpoints
• Requests - NASA API integration
• CORS Headers - Cross-origin support

Frontend (React + JavaScript)

• React 18.2 - UI framework
• Three.js - 3D visualization
• @react-three/fiber - React Three.js renderer
• @react-three/drei - Three.js helpers
• Leaflet.js - Interactive maps
• React-Leaflet - React Leaflet bindings
• Axios - HTTP client

🚀 Installation & Setup

Prerequisites

• Python 3.8 or higher
• Node.js 14 or higher
• npm or yarn
• Git

Backend Setup

1. Navigate to backend directory:

cd backend

2. Create virtual environment:

python -m venv venv

3. Activate virtual environment:

• Windows:

  venv\Scripts\activate

• macOS/Linux:

  source venv/bin/activate

4. Install dependencies:

pip install -r requirements.txt

5. Run migrations:

python manage.py migrate

6. Start Django server:

python manage.py runserver

Backend will run on: http://localhost:8000

Frontend Setup

1. Navigate to frontend directory:

cd frontend

2. Install dependencies:

npm install

3. Start React development server:

npm start

Frontend will run on: http://localhost:3000

🌐 Deployment (FREE!)

Ready to deploy your app to the world? We've created comprehensive guides:

📚 Deployment Guides

1. DEPLOYMENT_GUIDE.md - Complete step-by-step deployment guide

   • Deploy backend on Render (free)
   • Deploy frontend on Vercel (free)
   • Environment variables setup
   • CORS configuration
   • Troubleshooting tips

2. DEPLOY_CHECKLIST.md - Quick 10-minute deployment checklist

   • Pre-deployment checks
   • Step-by-step tasks
   • Testing procedures

3. ENV_VARIABLES.md - Environment variables reference

   • All required variables
   • How to generate SECRET_KEY
   • Security best practices

4. ALTERNATIVE_HOSTING.md - Other free hosting options

   • Netlify + Railway
   • GitHub Pages + PythonAnywhere
   • Cloudflare Pages + Fly.io
   • Comparison table

🚀 Quick Deploy

Recommended: Vercel (Frontend) + Render (Backend)

• Total Cost: $0 (FREE!)
• Setup Time: ~10 minutes
• No Credit Card Required

# 1. Push to GitHub
git add .
git commit -m "Ready for deployment"
git push origin main

# 2. Deploy frontend: vercel.com
# 3. Deploy backend: render.com
# 4. Done! 🎉

See DEPLOYMENT_GUIDE.md for detailed instructions.

📂 Project Structure

asteroid-impact-simulator/
Γö£ΓöÇΓöÇ backend/                    # Django backend
Γöé   Γö£ΓöÇΓöÇ api/                   # API application
Γöé   Γöé   Γö£ΓöÇΓöÇ nasa_api.py       # NASA NEO API integration
Γöé   Γöé   Γö£ΓöÇΓöÇ physics.py        # Physics calculation engine
Γöé   Γöé   Γö£ΓöÇΓöÇ views.py          # API endpoints
Γöé   Γöé   ΓööΓöÇΓöÇ urls.py           # URL routing
Γöé   Γö£ΓöÇΓöÇ backend/              # Django settings
Γöé   Γöé   Γö£ΓöÇΓöÇ settings.py       # Configuration
Γöé   Γöé   ΓööΓöÇΓöÇ urls.py           # Main URL config
Γöé   Γö£ΓöÇΓöÇ manage.py             # Django management
Γöé   ΓööΓöÇΓöÇ requirements.txt      # Python dependencies
Γöé
Γö£ΓöÇΓöÇ frontend/                  # React frontend
Γöé   Γö£ΓöÇΓöÇ public/               # Static files
Γöé   Γöé   ΓööΓöÇΓöÇ index.html        # HTML template
Γöé   Γö£ΓöÇΓöÇ src/
Γöé   Γöé   Γö£ΓöÇΓöÇ components/       # React components
Γöé   Γöé   Γöé   Γö£ΓöÇΓöÇ Orbit3D.js    # 3D orbit visualization
Γöé   Γöé   Γöé   Γö£ΓöÇΓöÇ ImpactMap.js  # Interactive impact map
Γöé   Γöé   Γöé   ΓööΓöÇΓöÇ MitigationUI.js # Deflection simulator
Γöé   Γöé   Γö£ΓöÇΓöÇ App.js            # Main app component
Γöé   Γöé   Γö£ΓöÇΓöÇ App.css           # App styles
Γöé   Γöé   ΓööΓöÇΓöÇ index.js          # Entry point
Γöé   ΓööΓöÇΓöÇ package.json          # Node dependencies
Γöé
ΓööΓöÇΓöÇ README.md                  # This file

🌐 API Endpoints

Asteroids

• GET /api/asteroids - Fetch NEO feed
  • Query params: start_date, end_date, hazardous_only
• GET /api/asteroids/<id> - Get specific asteroid details

Impact Simulation

• POST /api/simulate-impact - Calculate impact effects

  {
    "diameter_km": 1.0,
    "velocity_kmps": 20,
    "impact_lat": 40.7128,
    "impact_lon": -74.0060,
    "impact_angle": 45
  }

• POST /api/impact-from-asteroid - Calculate impact from NASA asteroid

  {
    "asteroid_id": "3542519",
    "impact_lat": 40.7128,
    "impact_lon": -74.0060
  }

Deflection Simulation

• POST /api/simulate-deflection - Simulate deflection methods

  {
    "original_velocity_kmps": 20,
    "method": "kinetic_impactor",
    "params": {
      "impactor_mass_kg": 500,
      "impactor_velocity_kmps": 10,
      "asteroid_mass_kg": 1e12
    }
  }

Health Check

• GET /api/health - API health status

🔑 NASA API Configuration

The NASA API key is configured in backend/backend/settings.py:

NASA_API_KEY = 'cXvyJSY51LQk5ElMYRGqUNotCpXn2fncclaKhnFm'

Get your own key at: https://api.nasa.gov

👥 Team Roles

Person	Responsibility	Files
Person 1	NASA API Integration	api/nasa_api.py
Person 2	Physics Engine	api/physics.py
Person 3	3D Orbit Visualization	components/Orbit3D.js
Person 4	Impact Map	components/ImpactMap.js
Person 5	Mitigation Simulator	components/MitigationUI.js

🧪 Testing

Backend Testing

cd backend
python manage.py test

Frontend Testing

cd frontend
npm test

🎓 Scientific References

• NASA Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS)
• Impact crater scaling laws
• Nuclear weapon effects calculations
• DART mission (Double Asteroid Redirection Test)

🐛 Known Issues

• Leaflet marker icons require manual import fix in development
• Some NASA API responses may be slow during peak times
• Ocean impact effects are simplified (no tsunami simulation yet)

🚧 Future Enhancements

• Tsunami simulation for ocean impacts
• Multiple asteroid tracking
• Historical impact database
• VR/AR visualization support
• Social media sharing
• PDF report generation
• Multi-language support

📝 License

This project is created for educational and hackathon purposes.

🙏 Acknowledgments

• NASA for providing the Near-Earth Object API
• The DART mission team for inspiring asteroid deflection research
• Three.js and Leaflet.js communities for amazing visualization tools

📧 Contact

For questions or collaboration:

• GitHub Issues: Create an issue
• Email: your.email@example.com

---

Built with ❤️ for Hackathon 2025

Protecting Earth, one simulation at a time 🌍✨