“The plan– detailed in a prolonged technical paper on the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) Experimental Cosmology Group website and sent to the journal Advances in Space Research– aims to smash large, potentially life-threatening asteroids into hundreds of small pieces by introducing a variety of “penetrator rods” into the asteroids path.These rods, each measuring about 6 to 10 feet long (1.8 to 3 meters, could contain dynamites– possibly even nuclear ones– to blast an approaching asteroid into relatively harmless bits long before it reaches Earths atmosphere, the scientists wrote.Related: The 10 greatest surges everThe resulting shower of debris might still cause damage to humans and structures down below, the authors said. As the Chelyabinsk occurrence showed, smaller items can still load a big punch.Part of the reason that the Chelyabinsk meteor was so harmful is that astronomers didnt see it coming; the rock was considerably smaller sized than the asteroids that area agencies generally track, and it shot at Earth straight from the direction of the sun, according to NASA.One benefit of the PI strategy is that a rocket complete of penetrator rods might in theory be introduced with extremely brief notification, the scientists said– even mere minutes prior to an item reaches Earths environment. That mission, known as the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART), will introduce in November, but nearly a year will pass prior to the test rocket reaches its target: the 525-foot-wide (160 m) moon of the asteroid Didymos. If successful, the rocket effect will slow the moons orbit simply enough for astronomers to identify whether asteroid redirection is even effective.But PI would require substantial screening to prove viable, as well, starting with ground-based testing on phony asteroids, then moving to genuine targets in area.
A group of scientists wishes to conserve Earth from a prospective asteroid apocalypse utilizing a new planetary defense technique they call PI– brief for “Pulverize It.”The strategy– detailed in a lengthy technical paper on the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) Experimental Cosmology Group website and submitted to the journal Advances in Space Research– aims to smash big, possibly lethal asteroids into hundreds of small pieces by launching an array of “penetrator rods” into the asteroids path.These rods, each measuring about 6 to 10 feet long (1.8 to 3 meters, could contain dynamites– possibly even nuclear ones– to blast an approaching asteroid into reasonably harmless bits long prior to it reaches Earths atmosphere, the researchers wrote.Related: The 10 biggest explosions everThe resulting shower of particles might still cause damage to human beings and structures down below, the authors said. This damage would be minimal compared with the effect of a large asteroid, like the 62-foot wide (19 m) meteor that exploded over Chelyabinsk, Russia in February 2013 with roughly the strength of 30 Hiroshima bombs. (The resulting shockwaves might have eliminated countless individuals had the meteor exploded straight over a significant city, however the blast took place over a broad location outside the city of Chelyabinsk, resulting in damage and injuries however no deaths). To utilize a cartoon analogy, the difference in between one large asteroid and hundreds of smaller ones is akin to “a 500-kilogram [1,100-pound] grand piano being dropped on your head from a height of one kilometer … [or] 500 kilograms of foam balls dropped on you from the very same height,” research study authors Philip Lubin and Alexander Cohen, both physicists at UCSB, wrote in a current editorial for Scientific American.The PI strategy would deploy lots of spear-like “penetrator rods” straight into an approaching asteroids path, “crushing” the rock into hundreds of pieces. (Image credit: Alexander Cohen)The looming threatNASA tracks the motions of more than 8,000 near-Earth asteroids with diameters greater than 460 feet (140 m). However, as the Chelyabinsk occurrence showed, smaller sized things can still load a big punch.Part of the factor that the Chelyabinsk meteor was so destructive is that astronomers didnt see it coming; the rock was substantially smaller than the asteroids that space firms typically track, and it shot at Earth straight from the instructions of the sun, according to NASA.One advantage of the PI strategy is that a rocket loaded with penetrator rods might in theory be released with exceptionally short notice, the researchers stated– even simple minutes prior to a things reaches Earths atmosphere.”An impactor the size of the 20-meter-wide space rock that broke up over Chelyabinsk, Russia … could be obstructed a simple 100 seconds prior to effect” utilizing a launcher comparable to the type used for global ballistic missiles, the researchers wrote in Scientific American. A rock the size of the 1,200-foot-wide (370 m) asteroid Apophis could “be dealt with 10 days prior to striking Earth,” the group stated. Existing rocket technology, like SpaceXs Falcon 9 launch vehicle, could easily deploy the explosive rods to the region around such an asteroid.If those price quotes are accurate, then the PI technique would be a considerably more flexible world defense plan than NASAs current objective to alter the course of a near-Earth asteroid by smashing a rocket into it. That objective, called the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART), will introduce in November, however nearly a year will pass prior to the test rocket reaches its target: the 525-foot-wide (160 m) moon of the asteroid Didymos. If successful, the rocket effect will slow the moons orbit simply enough for astronomers to figure out whether asteroid redirection is even effective.But PI would need extensive screening to show practical, too, beginning with ground-based testing on fake asteroids, then moving to real targets in area. At the moment, no such tests have actually been planned. The approachs success likewise hinges on scientists capability to discover small near-Earth asteroids like the Chelyabinsk impactor prior to they enter the environment. This, too, is an operate in development.”Without an appropriate early caution system, PI and any other planetary defense technique would use suboptimal protection,” The authors concluded in their Scientific American piece. “PI is simply one piece of this urgent puzzle: To correctly secure the Earth, we need to completely open more eyes on the skies.”Originally released on Live Science.