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Russia Plans To Divert Asteroid

Posted by samzenpus on from the Bruce-Willis-approved dept.

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."

5 of 305 comments (clear)

  1. The one thing that'll guarantee an Asteroid strike by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Is the ability to divert asteroids.

    Wonderful weapon, just massive blast damage and no residual radiation.

  2. Uhhhh, excuse me but... by HangingChad · · Score: 3, Interesting

    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
  3. Re:Sounds Fishy by CrimsonAvenger · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The Earth has been around for billions of years and in the last several hundred million years, it's been hit by how many bodies large enough to threaten all life?

    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"
  4. Re:The one thing that'll guarantee an Asteroid str by Rockoon · · Score: 3, Interesting

    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."
  5. A little game theory... by js_sebastian · · Score: 3, Interesting

    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.