An Integrated Framework for Asteroid Impact Risk Assessment: Post-DART Analysis and a High-Fidelity Simulation Tool

The empirical success of the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) and the imminentlaunch of the Near-Earth Object (NEO) Surveyor mission have radically shifted planetarydefense from a theoretical discipline to a practical one.1 This progress reveals newcomplexities, most notably the efficient and unexpectedly non-axial momentum transferfrom ejecta recoil on "rubble-pile" asteroids like Dimorphos , necessitating a new generationof high-fidelity simulation tools. This paper proposes an interactive, web-based frameworkthat uniquely integrates real-time NEO data from NASA, geological and topographicaldatasets from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), and impact physics models informed byDART mission findings. The 2024 YR4 asteroid scenario is used as a contemporary exampleof complex planetary defense decision-making, where a threat shifted from a potential Earthimpact to a lunar surface risk, highlighting the critical need for the proposed tool.7 The paperconcludes with a case study of Alexandria, Egypt, demonstrating the tool's capability tomodel cascading hazards (seismic and tsunami) with high geospatial resolution, assessingrisks to population centers, critical infrastructure, and cultural heritage.