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The Best Technological Way to Save Our Planet from Asteroid Collision

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Ella johnson
The Best Technological Way to Save Our Planet from Asteroid Collision

However, an asteroid collision wiped out their entire existence. Afterward, the ecosystem of our world changed. And it gradually gave birth to humans, who soon rose to the top of the food chain. Now, humans are different than dinosaurs. We might not be more significant or robust, but we have the gift of research, intellect, and technological prowess.

Should an asteroid collision impact our planet shortly, can we save ourselves? Well, the answer is yes. However, the situation becomes complicated when we take the dynamics of the solar system in our consideration. How can we save the planet without destroying our solar system?

Are Nukes the Perfect Answer to the Problem?

The equation E=MC2 and the nuclear missiles are some of the most technologically advanced creations made by humans. It not only changed the way humans do warfare but also gave us the capability to destroy our planet and the rest of the solar system. And, for many years, scientists have debunked the concept developed by Hollywood films that it is possible to destroy the calamitous asteroid headed towards our planet.

The reason behind the caution is quite simple. If you miss the asteroid, which is coming towards the planet rapidly, it might go elsewhere and destroy our neighboring world. Furthermore, even if humans hit the target, the asteroid will be broken down into several pieces. As a result of that, we might be facing an imminent rain of asteroid rocks, which would burn the whole planet.

However, a different scenario has been observed by the LLNL institute (an acronym for Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory). The laboratory created and studied a simulation upon which they concluded that destroying an asteroid by nuclear missiles might lead to a favorable outcome. The study of LLNL even concluded that humans could even destroy asteroids months before the expected collision. Nevertheless, the simulation also revealed that even successfully getting a spacecraft holding a nuke might be a severe undertaking. Nuking an entire space rock accelerating towards Earth might need genius planning and a significant number of risks.

An asteroid of a size similar to the one that impacted Earth sixty-four million years ago might mean impending doom for the planet. However, humans have been technologically advanced enough to detect an asteroid of that size.

And in the hopeful scenario, we could even detect or destroy the space rock before the impact. Whatever is the case, saving Earth from any kind of asteroid collision would require extensive research and planning. So, there are space agencies that are working on that.

DART Mission

Taking cognizance of the dangers posed by a possible asteroid impact, NASA has started a few endeavors. One of NASA’s projects is about to start is called DART (an acronym for Double Asteroid Redirection Test). In the project, the space agency will send a space vehicle to a double asteroid cosmic system. The location of this dual asteroid system has been called “Didymos.”

NASA’s strategy is to shoot the space vehicle on the asteroid called “Dimorphos,” which is the smaller of the two asteroids. They plan to alter the direction of the asteroid by using a spacecraft. Now, if NASA turns out to be successful in its venture, then the whole mission can be enhanced to deflect the trajectory of a similar but giant enough asteroid.

However, there is a problem. It is that the deflection strategy will not work in the absence of a sufficient lead time. If the DART mission is inconclusive, then NASA and the neighboring space agencies would need to have serious consideration regarding nuclear missiles. This is because it would probably be the only way left.

Conclusion

Are we technologically advanced enough to deter an asteroid collision? Well, there are several answers to this question. Several methods have been put forward to tack this scenario, and nuclear mission is one of the possible answers. However, everything will depend on the DART mission of NASA and how successful they become in altering the trajectory of a distant asteroid system called Didymos.

Ella johnson has extensive expertise in Microsoft Office and has spent a good part of her life working in the technical industry. Ella has written several technical blogs, manuals, and reviews for several renowned websites.

Source: The Best Technological Way to Save Our Planet from Asteroid Collision

 
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