A Nuclear Strike on an Asteroid Found to be The Hope of Mankind!

Interesting simulation performed David Dearborn, a physicist at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. It turns out that a nuclear explosion power of 300 kilotons, produced on the surface of the 270-meter asteroid in just 15 days before the attack on his Land (pilgrim will be located outside the orbit of the Moon), is able to reject the object enough to the collision happened.

97% resulting explosion debris bypassed the Earth – says David. And the more you undermine the point, the stronger will be scattered fragments, the less they fall into the planet. And about the radiation at a distance and say nothing. So all in such a scenario looks good.
NASA experts had long worked on the sketches of nuclear interceptor asteroids with a separating warhead on board, who offered to blow consistently.

Such an apparatus should consist of the rocket stage, delivers it to a rendezvous with an asteroid, the central frame with the guidance and six small controlled interceptor missiles with nuclear warheads (top and middle image), one of which is shown in detail below (illustrations NASA, Frame Space. com).

However, in some cases, as the results of another recent study, an explosion ripped asteroid may in a few hours to meet again, and get rid of him will not work. But much depends on the structure and composition of celestial rock.

By the way, recently the Japanese and American scientists have revealed the capsule had been brought to the asteroid, so that in this field of science can expect to advance.

270 meters, for comparison, is a dangerous size of Apophis, for which there is a chance of 1 to 250 000, that in 2036 he would hit our planet. Such a “stone” can destroy your metropolis. And if scientists determine that the course leads him on a collision than a nuclear strike viable option we have little left.
NASA NEO Program monitors the thousands of asteroids, representing a potential danger, regularly checks the parameters of their orbits and assesses the probability of impact on Earth. While the number obtained is extremely small (10-4-10-9), but who knows what tomorrow will be determined? (Frame Space.com)

The slow way of deviation such as long-term bombardment asteroid powerful laser, the installation of solar sails, designed to divert the asteroid to the side, or work around the celestial mountain gravity tractor – not sufficiently effective. Especially when it comes to even larger asteroid, and the time is still not enough.

On the other hand, if prior to the disaster remains a few years, there may be options. And even all the same nuclear explosion should work a little differently. Here you do not try to split the asteroid into pieces (more so if he’s really great). The charge will need to undermine not on the surface and at a distance of several hundred meters from it.
The undermining of the nuclear charge at a distance. The tremendous flow of radiation, particularly X-rays, vaporize a lot of material from the surface of a celestial body, and these gases will create a rocket boost to tweak the trajectory of a giant rock. The change in the parameters of movement will be insignificant, but it is projected to the years of flight will lead to bypass of the Earth side.

Since the possibility of conducting nuclear explosions in space – this is an obvious bone of contention for the public (the savior of the world there will have to fight in the first place, not a technical but a political obstacles and international law), American scientists are working on a backup plan.

For example, they calculate the efficiency of the kinetic effects – a direct kick from the high-speed machine. In the case of a decent margin of time before the accident (several years) it should work.

Very much like the way, the French method of collision of two asteroids – artificial reproduction of the disaster, similar to that for the first time astronomers have recently been caught in the lens telescope.
An alternative (or additional) way to influence the dangerous object in the asteroid involves sending several vehicles, shock, gradually dispersed from its own engines to several kilometers per second. At the moment of collision, they will give impetus to this asteroid, thus a bit, but shifting its orbit (illustrations NASA).

All of these projects suggest that modern technology will help us avoid the fate of dinosaurs. But to select the best scenario, the protection we need to know more about the enemy. Ideally – to touch his hands.

In its new space plan U.S. President Barack Obama has provided a manned flight to the asteroid in about 2025. For such an expedition has yet to develop a new technique. But we can already say that it will be a real breakthrough into the unknown – yet the first flight of people beyond the Earth-Moon system.

It is unlikely that someday we will need to install nuclear warheads in the depths of the asteroid. Here, of course, the famous movie Armageddon can not serve as a textbook. But even scientific expedition will be a huge step towards victory (just like the intelligence in this war).
Before deciding that all the same should be done in a threatening Earth asteroid, it should be better to study (if this is the time).

First, it can be done with an automatic device that should produce on the surface of a flying mountain probe, held in place of small thrust engines. Several small charge will create seismic waves, which will analyze devices on the landing stage. At the same time the main unit should investigate the asteroid with cameras and spectrometers (illustrations NASA).

In contrast to the events of tape with Bruce Willis is a real expedition to the asteroid would take much more time. Only way to go, for example, would require not a couple of days, but five or six months – say experts. Of course, the classic heroes of the shuttles here will not help – retiring ships are restricted to flights around the Earth.

All these months the crew will experience increased effects of cosmic radiation (about our own planet, astronauts and cosmonauts are protected by Earth’s magnetic field). It is possible that the conquerors of deep space would have to take drugs that reduce the manifestation of symptoms of its effects, like nausea.

And, of course, for the health of pilots such flight does not bode well. If you do not create an effective, yet lightweight protective shields, such as plastic or magnetic.

In fact, an asteroid people face the problem of fixing the ship and difficulty walking. Gravity on such a space object is close to zero, so that will have to invent some kind of anchor, maybe even a rope around the entire asteroid. And researchers are flying mountains meet with the abrasive, almost no settling dust.
The result is clear: we are technically ready for the threat from asteroids, but a reflection of space attack would require the full mobilization of forces and, by the way, considerable funds. And in terms of “census” of potential aggressors to the world made significant progress. For example, most recently in full force has earned a special telescope – hunter killer asteroids. So hopefully, a danger to the planet will be spotted in time. What is to be done – we know.

But, alas, you can breathe more freely, only if it is to talk about global catastrophe, threatening the disappearance of humanity and all life on Earth. But local disasters, the loss of “only some” million – a threat until barely rejection.
In 2004, the 30-meter asteroid 2004 FH safely flying at a distance of 43,000 kilometers from the Earth’s surface, and it was one of the most serious approximations of such bodies.

All this, aside from a few examples of asteroids, fortunately, the smaller size fell straight into the ground, exploding in the atmosphere and leaving behind a few pieces. By the way, we talked in detail about the first in the history of the event: “attacking” the object was spotted in space yet, but after the fall is found in the area.
“A few years later we can say is there in the asteroids that threaten global catastrophe – says David Morrison (David Morrison), director of the Institute of the Moon NASA (NLSI). – But there will be millions of bodies, which will be large enough to destroy the city . It will take a long time to find them and determine their orbits. We can test the impact of one of these little objects at any time without any warning. I can not say anything about the probability of incidence of one of these small objects, because we simply have not yet found them all. ”