OVERVIEW

Asteroid Impact Simulator is an educational web application developed for the NASA Space Apps Challenge 2025 - Meteor Madness challenge. It provides:

Real-time asteroid impact simulations with scientifically-based physics calculations
3D orbital trajectory visualizations of 200+ Near-Earth Objects from NASA data
Planetary defense strategy simulations (kinetic impactor, gravity tractor, nuclear)
Public educational API for researchers, educators, and students
Interactive learning modules covering impact physics, orbital mechanics, and planetary defense
Github source code and detail of the project : https://github.com/TawbeBaker/Cyber-and-Space

🏆 Challenge Goals

This project demonstrates:

✅ Real NASA data integration (NEO API, JPL SBDB, Horizons)
✅ Peer-reviewed physics models (Collins et al. 2005, Holsapple 1993)
✅ Documented limitations for scientific accuracy
✅ Public API for educational reuse
✅ Open-source with comprehensive documentation

You can find the code of this project in our public GitHub repository: GitHub - TawbeBaker/Cyber-and-Space

3D Trajectory - Orbital view module

Overview

What it does:

A real-time 3D visualization of the 200 closest asteroid approaches to Earth (1975-2025) with an interactive kinetic impactor mission simulator.

How it works:

Uses NASA JPL data (orbital elements from Horizons API) to calculate precise Keplerian trajectories. Renders asteroids in 3D space with Three.js, allowing users to simulate deflection missions by calculating delta-V changes and visualizing modified orbits in real-time.

Key benefits:

Educational: Makes complex orbital mechanics accessible and visual
Mission planning: Demonstrates kinetic impactor physics (momentum transfer, orbit modification)
Data accuracy: Uses authentic NASA data for 2020 VT4 (world record closest approach: 6,746 km)
Mobile-ready: Responsive design works on phones and tablets

Goals:

Raise awareness about planetary defense while providing an interactive tool for understanding asteroid trajectories and deflection strategies.

Tech stack:

Languages: JavaScript (ES6+), HTML5, CSS3
Libraries: Three.js (3D rendering), NASA JPL APIs (Horizons, SBDB)
Physics: Custom Kepler solver, orbital mechanics engine
Deployment: GitHub Pages (static hosting)

Code Generation & Development

Tool: GitHub Copilot

Usage:

Code completion and suggestions during development
Debugging assistance and error resolution
Refactoring and optimization suggestions
Demo of the module before its integration in the web application: https://cantorlacs.github.io/hackathon_2025_Montreal/

3D Trajectory - Impact simulation Module

Overview

This project simulates and analyzes the trajectory of asteroids approaching Earth, using physics-based modeling to predict impact locations.

The simulation uses gravitational dynamics, Earth’s rotation, and customizable asteroid parameters such as mass, radius, and initial velocity.

A Newtonian propagation model tracks motion in three dimensions, while a collision detection algorithm determines the exact latitude and longitude of impact.

The system even performs reverse geolocation to identify the corresponding region on Earth’s surface.

Tech stack:

The first version of the module was developed using Python and iterations was made using this programming language. Then the python code has been translate (using AI Tool) to be correctly integrated in the web application.

WEB Application and Other modules

Tech Stack

Frontend: React 18, TypeScript, Vite, Three.js, Tailwind
Backend: Node.js, Express
3D: @react-three/fiber, @react-three/drei
Maps: Leaflet, OpenStreetMap
State: Zustand
Hosting: Azure Static Web Apps + Container Apps

Data and Physics

NASA Dataset

Source: NASA JPL SBDB + NEO API
Asteroids: 200 near objects (1975-2025)
Dataset Size: 8.6 MB (asteroids.json)
Data: Orbital elements, diameter, magnitude, near approaches

Other Dataset

USGS Elevation API

This service allows us to obtain the altitude of a geographical point (latitude/longitude). in the goal to:

Adjust the effects of an impact according to the terrain
Integrate terrain models into simulations

USGS Earthquake API

This service provides real-time or historical seismic data. It can be used to:

Simulate impact-induced earthquakes
Display recent earthquakes in a given area

Overpass API

We use OpenStreetMap Overpass API to get Geographical objects (roads, buildings, schools, hospitals, etc.) data,

These data allow us to estimate the actual density around an impact point by analyzing:

the number of residential buildings
Types of infrastructure
Urban vs. rural areas

Physics and mechanics models

For the required calculations, we used the following models and equations:

Impact Simulation:

Energy: E = ½mv²
Crater: Scaling laws (Collins and al., 2005)
Blast zones: Fireball, thermal, air blast, radiation
Seismic magnitude: M = 0.67 × log₁₀(E) - 5.87

Orbital Mechanics:

Kepler equation: Newton-Raphson (tolerance 1e-8)
Earth position: error < 15,000 km
Transformations: 3 rotations Euler (Ω, i, ω)
Scale: 1 unit = 1 million km

API exposed by our BackEnd

You can also refer to our API documentation: Cyber-and-Space/docs/API_USAGE.md at main · TawbeBaker/Cyber-and-Space · GitHub

1. GET /api/impact

Purpose: Simulates an asteroid impact based on provided parameters.

2. GET /api/asteroids

Purpose: Retrieves a list of near-Earth asteroids.

3. GET /api/asteroid/:id

Purpose: Returns details about a specific asteroid.

4. GET /api/weather

Purpose: Retrieves weather conditions for a given location.

5. GET /api/geocode

Purpose: Converts a place name into GPS coordinates.

6. GET /api/health

Purpose: Checks if the API is operational.

More informations

For more detailled informations of our project you can refer to the read.me file available in our public GitHub repository.

Cyber-and-Space/README.md at main · TawbeBaker/Cyber-and-Space · GitHub

Cloud infrastructure

On Azure (using free subscription)

Because of the technical background of a team member and according to the low learning curve required to deploy our web application on this platform, we make the choice to use Azure services.

Creation of a Domain name

We registered the Domain name meteormadness.earth for the need of our web application.

Iteration by design

Day 1:

We analyse the challenge subject and define routghly the different modules and fonctionnalities that must be integrated in our solution
- 3D trajectory: Simulation of asteroids path and impact localisation
- Impact simulation
- Learning
- Game
We take the decision that each module will be developed by one of the team members
We realize several iterations of the code and ajust it regarding the feedbacks gave by the other team members during the development
One of the team members was in charge of the Azure infrastructure implementation and deploiement process

Day 2:

We work on the integration of all the modules in the final Web app application
We make some ajustment to the exiting code
At the end of the day we had an web application up and running and accessible by user

2025 NASA Space Apps Challenge

CYBER and SPACE 🛰️ Montréal