B612 Foundation and 2004 YD5 Asteroid Capture?

aisnota writes "The B612 Foundation hopes to alter the orbit of an asteroid in a controlled manner by 2015 and seems ready to do the obvious and capture 2004 YD5. Slice it up, put the pieces into aerobrake containers like a simplified version of the Mars landers. Then just sell the pieces on EBay to fund more ambitious projects."

Comments

Extortion for fun or profit.

[Anonymous Coward]

If they can alter orbit that much, perhaps they could threaten to crash it into earth and hold the world ransom for one meeeelion dollars.

Non-effective name

[Jon Abbott]

How do they expect to be taken seriously with a name like B612 Foundation? I propose the alternative name "`Shit! Shit! The Meteors are Coming!' Foundation" instead.

dropping the parts onto Earth doesn't work

[frovingslosh]

Slice it up, put the pieces into aerobrake containers like a simplified version of the Mars landers. Then just sell the pieces on EBay to fund more ambitious projects.

This is hardly going to work. They put the pieces into (expensive, once you make enough and thet them up there) containers, then drop them to Earth. How the heck do they expect to get them back? A container like this is not a very controlled re-entry device. Do they just expect anyone who comes across one, or anyone who's property it lands on to return it to them? What of the liability of hurling this at someone's property or home or body? It's not a problem on Mars, since Mars is free of pesky lawyers so far, but on Earth - big problem due to the lawyer infestation.