Slashdot Mirror
How To Deflect an Asteroid With Today's Technology
Matt_dk writes "Apollo 9 astronaut Rusty Schweickart is among an international group of people championing the need for the human race to prepare for what will certainly happen one day: an asteroid threat to Earth. Schweickart said the technology is available today to send a mission to an asteroid in an attempt to move it, or change its orbit so that an asteroid that threatens to hit Earth will pass by harmlessly. But what would such a mission entail?"
Bruce Willis.
Obviously it depends on detection time. If we detect the asteroid years ahead of time, then even tiny changes in course will save us from impact. This could be done by simply crashing a small probe into it...something we've done successfully on more than one occasion. But, if we don't detect it until it's nearly on top of us then it may well be beyond our ability to do it. Therefore, the obvious solution is to increase detection technology.
Great warrior...hrmph! Wars not make one great.
We'll just send Chuck Norris up there to roundhouse-kick it out of the way.
put it in a wormhole and have it jump over earth!
That's all you need.
What if we only have the ability to divert it a little bit, if and when that comes? Then we only control WHERE it hits, not WHETHER it hits. So how do we choose, I wonder?
The most beneficial thing we could do is build a system to detect such asteroids as early as possible. Once located, it's easy to deflect an asteroid that's far away. A small nudge or impact from a probe or the like would push it out of an intercept course while it's still far away. The closer it gets, the more force is required to push it off at an angle that will keep it out of our way. It may take a few newtons of force to deflect an astroid coming in from as far away as saturn, but much more to deflect an asteroid that's already close to mars.
I guess in simpler terms, if we had a really awesome early detection system, all we need is a small rocket launched from the ISS to impact it, wheras with a crappy system, we need Bruce Willis.
Bruce Willis died deflecting the last one. It'll have to be Ben Affleck next time... finally.
Set your phasers on "funky"!
None of them want to pay taxes again. Ever.
"Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much." - Oscar Wilde
Speaking of the apocalypse: Of course doomsday predictions are always for a future date. It would be much more interesting if someone figured out a doomsday prediction for a date 3 years past. That would mean someone has to make a time machine to go back and warn them that the world is about to end. Knowing the world didn't end we could be certain that we will succeed in the time-travel mission.
This of course means that when the world does end it isn't our fault- it's the fault of the people from the future failing to post-predict the apocalypse and make a time machine to stop it.
My webcomic
Just point the LHC at it and poof, asteroid immediately gone when it entered the event horizon of a miniature black hole that was created.
Nukes, and lots of them. Yeeeehhaaaww!
Let's just nuke Klandathu first.
The "impact" method stands the chance of splitting the asteroid into man little pieces, and since that process of splitting absorbs energy less of it is available to deflect the body from its current course. To have enough mass going at a high enough velocity to contain enough energy to nudge it into a different trajectory you need heavy lift rockets with very fast final stage projectiles. The more velocity the more energy, but the more of that energy that will create debris that potentially causes even more problems. The best solution would be a very heavy object moving slowly, but the would be impossible to lift and deploy. Using nukes would allow a smaller projectile, but would very likely cause radioactive debris to renter earth's atmosphere. Not good. Its better to land on it and push it into the sun's gravity well.
The 'Gravity tractor' method requires just as much energy as pushing the asteroid, but you need LOTS of mass to make it work. Again you need heavy lift equipment to make this work, and I seriously doubt you can lift enough mass into space, and move it to where it needs to be, in time to effect the trajectory by much. You are still better off using that same fuel to get there quickly and push it lightly for a while into a new trajectory.
CERN could create black hole in front of the earth that would suck down the asteroid. To hell with detractors and their "drawbacks". Haters gonna hate.
I think this is a great idea. Not only should we come up with good theories, we should test the best one on an asteroid that is relatively close, and have the necessary preparations done for a future quick-launch mission in case this ever does happen.
Because, after all, the amount of time between when we hear about an asteroid on a collision course and when it would actually hit the planet is likely to be a LOT less than the amount of time it would take to ready a space mission (or build a special rocket, or borrow China's anti-satellite laser!)
The article suggests two approaches:
...a kinetic impact would roughly “push” the asteroid into a different orbit, and a gravity tractor would “tug slowly”...by using nothing more than the gravitational attraction between the two bodies.
I didn't think we could produce enough kinetic energy to affect anything large enough to be a threat. Similarly, I would be surprised if we could get any significant mass into space to attract it via gravity. Am I totally off-base here? It seems to me that we would need to rely on either 1) nuclear power or 2) external power (solar?) to have any significant impact. For example: attach a solar sail to the asteroid to slow it down or change the direction. Or a solar-shield that might cool one part of the asteroid and change the orbit. Or a nuclear blast to push it.
The path of the object should be very predictable. All you have to do is either annihilate it or move it off its course. At the scale of distances, even a .1% shift should have pretty significant impact. Of course, this assumes we see it coming far enough out to attempt such a feat.
...we wouldn't.There is no possible threat to the Earth which humans could ever make even the smallest abount of diffence about. Instead there is a threat to civilisation. Pedantic, I know but the only threat to the earth is crashing into a star or another planet. Humanity compared is much more fragile, threatened by a mere mile wide rock or similar.
Reality is in fact, Virtual
People hate to admit it, but this really is a mission that is best done with nuclear explosives.
Not to "blow it up," no-- but to produce an impulse to nudge it onto a slightly altered course, a surface nuclear blast is about the best technique you can think of. Nukes have extremely high energy to mass ratio. And, despite what Hollywood would have you think, you don't need to have Bruce Willis dig a hole in the asteroid to plant it.
Some analysis is needed to make sure that you nudge the asteroid, not fragment it. Nevertheless, it's hard to beat the efficacy of a nuclear explosion.
http://www.geoffreylandis.com
The Tennessee Fire Brigade has shown the right way. A subscription based detection system. Only the Asteroids that are going to hit the subscriber's home will be detected. If you don't pay the 75$ a year subscription fee, sorry buddy. An asteroid is going to hit your home and we will watch it with glee.
sed -e 's/Chuck Norris/Rajnikant/g' joke > fact
...the Dragonriders of Pern can move a planet, we can move a little rock.
We must kill Leader Desslok!
Why, without your clothes, you're naked, Miss Dudley!
We could always send BP to drill on the asteroid but then again, they would probably end up with a rig explosion and everyone on earth would get screwed.
I thought this was already solved?
You don't move the asteroid... you move the Earth! With lots of giant hydrogen powered rocket tubes at the South Pole!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mf2lvRStVdg
Our "leaders" would try to deflect the asteroid with their best weapons: denial, filibustering, finger pointing, libel, slander, bribery, blackmail, and a congressional hearing in which the asteroid is badgered and vilified.
Send in a spacecraft packed with lawyers threatening to sue if that doesn't change its course.
Double win!
Mastering the English language is fucking easy: all you have to do is to put an f* word in every fucking sentence.
You find out its orbital and mechanical properties as early as possible.
Then you send a gravity tug to change the orbit.
Last time this happened it wiped out the dinosaurs, paving the way for us... Who are we now to decide what may or may not happen to the future of life itself on this planet? If you say we have have evolved intelligence and we should use it, you can't be against life extension technology. Oh Space Nutters, what is it this time? "Go technology!" except when extending life?
Big, beefy penis rockets: YES
300+ years of youth: UNNATURAL!!! WAHHHH!!!!!
Here's s couple thoughts: if we had a powerful laser, could we zap it? What about putting some infective virus like nanobots that eat in at the asteroid.
Also, if we detect an asteroid that's big enough to destroy us all and nothing destroys it for us, we will know aliens aren't here trying to protect us for some reason.
The mars rover was 'an asteroid' but we protected it, so couldn't we wrap some cushioning around it so when it lands it has a cushion of sorts. Or what about covering it with some highly reactive material so when it enters earths atmosphere, it burns up quicker than normal?
Have a backup plan...
The TWO Lagrange points? There are five last I checked.
Make that six, you forgot about one down in Texas, ya know, that's got a shack just outside?
The last 2 discovered asteroids that passed "close" (at least, closer than the moon, the last one was few days ago at 45k km) were found with very few days in advance. They weren't very big, but still could had done some big damage, and the early warning wasnt enough to even think on launching a ship, much less doing anything effective with it.
Early detection must be improved... that some of the asteroids that we know could take 15 years to get here and so give us enough time to prepare don't mean that some unknown or even known ones (if you want, because somehow changed its orbit) could be in its way here and detected when is already too late.
I think we are looking at this the wrong way. We should instead be trying to turn the moon into our own deathstar. That way we can change its orbital position to deflect or intercept the asteroid. That way we get multiple uses out of it and can also rule the solar system once our deathstar becomes fully operational. How hard would it be to put enough rockets on the moon to be able to drive it around... Seriously NASA WTF are you guys doing trying to land a little rocket on a asteroid when you could be asking for funding to drive the Moon.
It's easier to just make a hyperspace bubble that encompasses it - though you need to have enough power to get off it afterwards.
There really isn't a better way. You send one up there, see what happens, if the result isn't great, you send another one. Repeat until the object has modified it's orbit enough to miss, or it's been pulverized to the point that it has such a great surface area that most of the mass would burn up in the atmosphere.
A gravity tug mike work, but it takes like 100 years or so to move a 200 meter wide asteroid (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4420762.stm).
I am no rocket scientist but what about attaching an engine to the side of the asteroid and turning it on (hopefully it stays attached)? Wouldn't that speed up the deflection process time?
Tired of my customary (Score:1)
Simple. Change the gravitational constant of the universe.
Sorry, Rusty, but I'm not going to trust the asteroid-related opinions of somebody who can't even do something as elementary as going into space without losing his lunch. That's just the way it is. I think we should listen to Buzz Aldrin instead.
Who's going to be responsible for damages in court if they screw up and direct it more towards earth though?
Samuel L. Jackson in "Snakes in a Rocket"
Change the gravitational constant of the universe!
Why not use Prism's Armageddon instead. I still can't believe this wasn't used in the movie, boyfriend issues aside.
I come here for the love
He forgot to account for the Congressional hearings, where conservatives will deny the existence of "these so-called space rocks" (they aren't, after all, mentioned in the Bible), and just a ploy to rake in more moolah for Big Astronomy. Not to mention the flurry of state AG witchhunts into the astronomers' emails.
On the other hand, if one of the scientists said that there was a possibility that the asteroid had a diamond core, a private sector solution would no doubt be undertaken by DeBeers.
"I guess the moral of the story is, don't paint your airship with rocket fuel." -- Addison Bain
Ok, what we really need to do is create a simulator for a small craft to destroy the asteroid while said craft and means of deployment is being developed. Something using vector graphics should be quick and easy to come up with on the simulator side. The craft should be maneuverable and have a cannon capable of breaking the large asteroid into smaller and smaller chunks until these chunks can be destroyed by the cannon. Incidentally, the cannon should also be able to defend against alien craft in case of their interference. High scorers can be recruited to pilot the craft to save the earth.
Wow, our technology will be amazing one day. I wonder how soon we will be leaving Earth? lol...
The pointing said big ground based laser at the asteroid for 8 hours a day, heating up a portion of one side of the asteroid to cause it to ablate, thereby causing a tiny continual net thrust which would alter its course over time enough to miss us? You couldn't do a space based one due to treaties and such, but a ground based one might just pass muster.
I would much rather spend the money on this than that Global Warming crap.
This article also clearly describes the methods necessary for a mad scientist (possessing lots of money and forethought, of course) to deflect an asteroid TOWARDS the Earth.
I can see the fnords!
Or extend your ship's shields around the asteroid, and use your ship's hyperdrive to fly the asteroid through the earth and harmlessly out the other side.
Rusty's answer is "gravity tractor", right? Same as last time this story ran. That one included the fact that he wanted to build and presumably sell said widgets. Since he hasn't, that's hardly today's technology.
Today's technology would be something already tested. Say, the cable and reel used on the shuttle's tethered power generation experiment. Land a large reel of cable, anchor the end, and let centripedal force throw the reel out. After it's tens of kilometers out, the center of gravity will have shifted and the rotation will have slowed. Figure the best direction to throw the rock, wait for the rotation to get it close to that, and blow explosive bolts on the anchor. It doesn't take much change in trajectory to turn a hit to a miss if it's done early enough.
"I may be synthetic, but I'm not stupid." -- Bishop 341-B
This should be easy assuming it's not a solid chuck of iron and/or nickle.
Step 1. Launch a multi-stage rocket from Earth to the rock in question. The the tip of this rocket will have a very long harpoon made out out tungsten carbide.
Step 2. Impale the asteroid with the rocket thus delivering kinetic energy.
Step 3. Fire off the attached retro-rocket and continue to push the asteroid off course.
Life is not for the lazy.
What would such a mission entail? Actually seeing the asteroid before it hits us... ... we have serious problems with that as it is.
"Gravity tractor" is the stupidest idea I have ever heard.
If you have a heavy object that you can bring close enough to the asteroid so gravity will be sufficient to move asteroid at all, you can just as well land that object at the asteroid and push asteroid away from it, so both will end up in different orbits that do not intersect with Earth. At the scale of anything that can be built by humans (leave alone launched into space), jackscrew would be more powerful than gravity.
Of course, just as well you can simply cut asteroid into pieces and push them apart -- for example with explosions.
Contrary to the popular belief, there indeed is no God.
Sometimes, modeling a problem is made more understandable. One can then show the painful complexities. Others can contribute to solving those complexities. Eventually, the problem is solved.
Fail Safe
Everything out there is roughly flat.
4 telescopes with wide field cameras on probes sent to "above" and "below" the ecliptic roughly centered over the sun. 2 each direction so one as backup.
Monitor everything - always lit up by the sun except for when it is eclipsed by a planet.
I tried to draw an ascii pic of the setup but too lame
The Singularity is closer than you think
Quant
Project Orion shows how to do it with current tech, creating meganewtons of thrust at very high exhaust velocity. Don't blow it up, just shove it out of the way with lotsa little nukes optimized for thrust, not radiation. Launch from near the magnetic north pole from a steel armored barge, with the first explosion using 100T of conventional explosive, and fallout will be very, very minimal.
There is nothing wrong with yr Internet. Do not attempt to adjust the picture. We are controlling the transmission - NSA