Using Gravity To Tow Asteroids

cryptocom writes "Space.com is reporting that two scientists at NASA are proposing using a 20-ton spacecraft to pull asteroids off a possible collision course with Earth, using the spacecraft's own gravity as an attractor. This idea would not only be cheaper, but have a much higher chance of success, due to not having to actually land on the asteroid's surface."

Comments

How exciting, sort of

[phpm0nkey]

"The kind of spacecraft we've talked about could move an asteroid 650 feet (200 meters) across provided we have decades of advanced warning,"

Neat... although, if this works, it will totally kill the Hollywood "asteroid catastrophe" genre. The concept of sitting a giant hunk of metal next to an asteroid for 20 years to gradually shift its path doesn't exactly make for fast-paced, high-tension action movie fare.

Re:The mother of all asteroid deflection devices

[lightyear4]

I don't think you should place a price upon the value of saving civilization.

Re:The mother of all asteroid deflection devices

[Gulthek]

Maybe to stop a huge asteroid from impacting on the Earth's surface the cost would be quite reasonable.

I.e. I don't think that world leaders would look at the figures and go "Hrmmmmm...when you say extinct...how extinct?"

I tried this...

[novus ordo]

...with women, but I've had mixed success(wrong body part got gravitationally attracted to my face).

Re:The mother of all asteroid deflection devices

[GryMor]

'Hoovering' isn't going to work, suction is just the difference between a high presure area and a low presure area. In order to 'hoover' in this environment you would need to have a zone inside the space craft with a presure lower than the presure outside the spacecraft. The presure outside the spacecraft is aproximately 0, so, good luck with creating an area of negative pressure (which would require a negative number of atoms, a negative absolute temperature or a negative volume...)

Re:The mother of all asteroid deflection devices

[AnonymousKev]

> I.e. I don't think that world leaders would look at the figures and go "Hrmmmmm...when you say extinct...how extinct?"

You've obviously never been in a scheduling meeting with management.

Why not move the earth?

[HermanAB]

Never mind moving the objects, just move the earth out of the way. Just mount an engine on the north and south poles. No need for any space travel. This can be done at ground level. A pair of coal fired steam jets should do it.