Chinese rocket scientists find ‘most effective’ way to nuke a doomsday asteroid
Chinese researchers have proposed a two-step method to deflect dangerous asteroids by using a metal penetrator to bury a nuclear device beneath the surface. Simulations suggest this approach is more effective than surface explosions at altering an asteroid's trajectory.
Why it matters
This research provides a potential planetary defense strategy against near-Earth objects that could pose an existential threat to humanity.
Chinese researchers believe they may have found the most effective way to destroy or deflect a large, Earth-threatening asteroid – by burying a nuclear bomb beneath its surface and exploding it.
The idea is to first slam a metal penetrator into the asteroid, digging a deep hole. A second spacecraft would then drop a nuclear bomb into the hole and blow it up, according to a team led by researchers at the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology in Beijing.
In simulations, a 3-megaton explosion – or around 200 Hiroshima bombs – could completely blast apart an asteroid about 100 metres (328 feet) across, the team reported in the Space: Science & Technology journal in May.
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