One of the most popular doomsday scenarios is that a huge asteroid falls to Earth and the collision
What is the plan of the scientists?
On the website of the experimental cosmological groupA large white paper has been published by the University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB) and Advances in Space Research. This is a plan aimed at breaking large, potentially dangerous for the Earth asteroids into hundreds of tiny pieces by launching special harpoon rods with missiles.
These rods, each ranging in size from 1.8 to 3 meters,may contain explosives - perhaps even nuclear ones - to detonate an asteroid. It is planned that the attack on space objects will be at a safe distance from the Earth.
How will it work?
There is still an idea in the scientific community to blow upasteroids were considered erroneous. The fact is that these space objects move at great speed, and shrapnel from explosions can do more harm than the impact of a single asteroid (of course, we are not talking about a huge asteroid that can destroy the Earth by its collision). Nevertheless, the idea of a decisive strike and, if possible, using a nuclear weapon is starting to gain popularity.
However, the group's Pulverize It proposalAmerican scientists are different from the rest. The researchers proposed to deliver special ammunition in the form of metal pins with explosives in the tip to the asteroid fall trajectory. Together, the speed of the asteroid and the launch vehicle will force such harpoons to penetrate deep into space objects and tear them apart from the inside.
Image courtesy of Alexander Cohen
In a new study, scientists have found that suchthe method could safely destroy an asteroid that fell several years ago near Chelyabinsk even 100 seconds before the collision. True, the larger the asteroid, the greater the distance it needs to start crushing.
This is dangerous?
As the authors of the study note, as a result of such an explosion, there is still a danger of a shower of debris, which could cause damage. However, experts point out that it can be considered insignificant.
Study authors Philip Lubin and Alexander Cohen,physicists at UCSB recently explained in an editorial for Scientific American the difference between a single asteroid impact and a shower of small rocks. “Imagine if a 500-kilogram grand piano fell on you from a height of a kilometer or 500 kg of foam balls from the same height,” the scientists write.
NASA tracks the movements of over 8,000 near-Earthasteroids with a diameter of more than 140 m. However, as the incident in Chelyabinsk showed, smaller objects can still cause huge damage. According to NASA, it was several times smaller than asteroids, which are usually tracked by space agencies.
According to researchers, one of the benefitsPulverize It's plan is that it is theoretically possible to launch a rocket full of rods in a very short time - even minutes before the object reaches Earth's atmosphere.
What asteroids threaten the Earth?
Now there are several asteroids, observations of which allow us to conclude that their orbits are dangerously close to the Earth. Among them:
- 29075 (1950 DA)
Small near-Earth asteroid from the groupApollo 29075 (1950 DA) is notable primarily for being rated as the most dangerous for the Earth. The closest approach of the asteroid to the Earth is expected in 2032, and a possible collision - on March 16, 2880. In this case, a catastrophe awaits human civilization, in particular, the death of most of the biosphere. - 101955 Bennu (1999 RQ36)
Bennu is the second most dangerous for our planetasteroids. The date of the possible fall fluctuates between 2175 and 2199, during this period it will come 78 times to the Earth at a close distance. The period of revolution around the Sun is approximately 1.2 years. - 410777 (2009 FD)
The third line in the table of the most dangerous asteroidsRanked 2009 FD. It is a double asteroid, which is a system of two celestial objects connected to each other by gravity. The first object with a diameter of 120-180 meters, and the second - 60-120 meters. The weight of the 2009 FD is about 3.2 million tons. - 99942 Apophis (2004 MN4)
Although NASA ruled out the possibilitythe collision of Apophis with Earth in 2036, the European service NEODyS, which is sponsored by ESA, is in no hurry to cross it off its list of dangerous asteroids. Like the three objects described above, it has the "special" status. This means that an unwanted meeting with the Earth, according to European researchers, is still possible. The timing of the approach to the planet varies from 2029 to 2036. An asteroid such as Apophis, 370 m wide, the Pulverize It system can "process 10 days before colliding with the Earth." Existing rocket technology, such as SpaceX's Falcon 9 launch vehicle, can easily deploy explosive rods in the area around such an object.
What's the bottom line?
If these scientists' estimates are accurate, then the Pulverize methodIt could be a more flexible plan for protecting the planet than NASA's current mission. It is planned that in case of danger, scientists will be able to change the course of the asteroid by changing its trajectory with the help of a rocket strike. The Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission will launch in November.
Before starting, the system must be tested forEarth on fake asteroids. It should also be borne in mind that the success of the method depends on the ability of scientists to detect small near-Earth asteroids before they enter the atmosphere. This is also important. “Without a suitable early warning system, Pulverize It, like any other, will provide insufficient protection,” the study authors conclude.
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