'Planet-killer' asteroids to be targeted by nukes fired into space in NASA plan

12 November 2023 , 20:51

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'Planet-killer' asteroids to be targeted by nukes fired into space in NASA plan

Huge asteroids that hurtle towards Earth could be destroyed with nuclear warheads during their journey, scientists say.

Researchers have drawn up plans on how to deal with the potentially world-ending scenario that they insist needs to be taken ‘very seriously’. One contingency is to hit the impending rock with a nuclear missile in order to knock it off its course and avoid it hammering into mankind.

Although the scene seems like something from a science fiction film, NASA aerospace engineer Brent Barbee has insisted it is the best chance against an asteroid that threatens the extinction of the human race. An asteroid measuring 1.5km could only be stopped by something that matched its huge kinetic impact, meaning a nuclear weapon might be one of the only things powerful enough to stop the hurtling rock.

A potential asteroid could be destroyed before it hits the Earth, scientists say (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Professor Barbee told LiveScience: "The kinetic impactor is a spacecraft that basically just rams into the asteroid at high speed and transfers its momentum to the asteroid, much like playing billiards. A single appropriately sized nuclear explosive device was, in our analysis, found to be capable of deflecting even the 1.5 kilometer size asteroid. But then the ejected material that comes off the asteroid from the impact point can provide additional momentum change for the asteroid and push it a little bit harder."

The scientist explained how the process would practically work, with a spacecraft carrying the nuclear bomb needing to find the perfect angle of approach and get within a few hundred feet of its target. He said the likely procedure would see the nuke transported from a standard spacecraft vehicle to a small spacecraft that would carry the explosion closer to the hurtling asteroid.

Green comet last seen by Neanderthals 50,000 years ago to fly past earth tonight

Data from the European Space Agency has shown that asteroids big enough to destroy a city could appear with little warning because when the big rock is in the sun’s glare it can move without detection. Officials say dozens of the ‘planet-killers’ could be present in the solar system.

Jake Loader