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Russia Plans To Divert Asteroid
CyberDong writes "Roscosmos, Russia's Federal Space Agency, will start working on a project to save planet Earth from a possible collision with Asteroid Apophis, which may happen in 2036. NASA specialists believe that the collision is extremely unlikely. Russian specialists will choose the strategy and then invite the world's leading space agencies to join the project."
Is the ability to divert asteroids.
Wonderful weapon, just massive blast damage and no residual radiation.
Roscosmos, Russia's Federal Space Agency, will start working on a project to save planet Earth from a possible collision with Asteroid Apophis
This would be the same people who just tried to engineer a winter without snow in Russia, with mixed results.
Now they're going to try diverting an asteroid.
What could go wrong?
That's our life, the big wheel of shit. - The Fat Man, Blue Tango Salvage
If we don't know enough to estimate the likelihood of impact, then we don't know enough about the trajectory to even consider screwing with it.
In ten years, we will have better information on this asteroid, and a better idea of whether it's going to hit or not. If it's going to hit, we want to have some means of deflecting it. If we want to have some means of deflecting it in ten years, we should start developing it now.
Please note that Apophis is nowhere near large enough to "threaten all life".
Wreck a city? It can do that.
Make a spectular boom? That too.
But it's not a threat to "all life". Or even most life. Or even a little bit of life (unless it lands on the last four white rhinos in the wild).
"I do not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"
How about a 100% chance of it hitting the moon.
I think that we can arrange it. I would definitely prefer to have my tax dollar spent making something cool like that happen, rather than spend it on bailouts or diverting it directly into the pockets of the health insurance industry.
"His name was James Damore."
Be careful what you say there... you might just debunk the nuclear boogie man. An Apophis sized impact is said to be equivalent to about 1000 H-bombs.
How we know is more important than what we know.
Because Apophis is under observation we know exactly what the risk is.
Aren't some of them a bit unpredictable due to the ejection of matter (eg steam) as they get closer to the sun? Or maybe i've been reading too much SciFi.
The real risks come from objects we are not currently observing.
That's certainly true. Wasn't there one that came pretty close recently that we only noticed as it was leaving?
Something bumps into another thing in the oort cloud, and sends a comet towards Earth. We'll see it at about the orbit of Saturn (probably found by an amateur), and we'll have about two years -max- to kiss our asses goodbye.
Your idea is right on the money, but too bad the money is not yet on the idea. I doubt they will be allowed to even test the idea unless there is a high probability that a rock may hit the earth (one is 250 000 is rather low). I agree that some of the solutions are only temporary, and the asteroid could eventually converge back to its original path. The idea of using light/heat to alter the course of the asteroid is pretty interesting. They may even paint the rock to absorb more energy. Your point about mining the rock could have dual benefits. We would collect valuable minerals, and it could even be used to offset the objects center of gravity to alter its course. The Russians are definitely using Hollywood ideas, but they have said NO to using nukes (unless it becomes necessary). The other ideas are very practical, and can be pulled off with today/tomorrow's tech (all they need is the power of a car on a probe). In my opinion, we are fools not to take them seriously.
NO, there is a bigger chance to be hit by an asteroid than to win a lottery.
Is there really? Estimates of this based on historical data would have us hit by an asteroid big enough to make dinosaurs go extinct once every... 70 million years (or so, look it up if you want correct numbers). So it is perhaps about as likely to be hit by one in a given year as a given ticket winning the lottery (depending on how big a lottery). However, if we assume that such an asteroid would kill 7 billion people if it did hit, we can also say that catastrophic asteroid impact kills on average 100 people a year... not a highly impressive number, probably less people than are killed by flying debris http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0EY86At7qs each year, but still pretty high considering that there is hardly any historical record of a man being killed by an asteroid impact.