There is a very small chance that an asteroid capable of taking out the entire city can attack Earth in less than eight years. But even though this asteroid is hurting our path, humanity is now able to defend itself against such danger, experts say.
NASA said on Tuesday that the recently discovered asteroid would reach Earth on December 22, 2032, which has now increased to 3.1 percent, the modern forecast has the most likely to impact by such a large space rock.
“Don’t panic,” Richard Moisl, head of the European Space Agency’s planetary defense office, told AFP.
As astronomers collect more data, the possibilities of a direct hit are expected to move upwards before leaving the bottom.
However, even the possibility is unlikely that the probability keeps on growing up to 100 percent, “we are not defense”, Moissl insisted.
Here are some methods that humanity can deflection or destroy the asteroid known as 2024 YR4.
Break a spacecraft in it
Only one planetary defense strategy has been tried on a real asteroid.
In 2022, NASA’s Double Asteroid Relations Test (Dart) deliberately broke a spacecraft in a 160-meter-wide demorphos asteroid, successfully replaced its class around a large space rock.
One advantage of this scheme is that we can kill 2024 YRR4 asteroids with multiple spacecrafts, given how each one changed its trajectory, Bruce Bates, the chief scientist of the non -profit planetary society, told AFP.
The asteroid discovered in December is estimated to be 40-90 meters wide-reightened half size demorphos.
“You have to take care not to do it too much,” Moisal warned.
If the spacecraft partially destroyed the asteroid, it can send “bits flying flying” which is still head towards the Earth, they said.
If such an accident changed the last impact site on Earth – for example, “from Paris to Moscow” – this would probably have major problems of returning home, Batses said.
Tractor, ion beam, paint
A different idea called gravity tractor contains a large spacecraft that fly near asteroid and – without touching it – using its gravitational bridge to remove it from the earth.
Another non-contact plan will place a spacecraft near the asteroid equipped with the thrusters that will eliminate the “continuous stream of ions” to close the asteroid, the Moisle said.
Scientists have also considered spray painting on one side of the asteroid white, which increases its reflection, so it gradually changes the trajectory.
These subtler strategies will need to reach asteroids sooner than some more serious options.
Nuclear option
Or we can also blow it with a atomic bomb.
An atomic weapon is shown in the 1998 Science-Fi action movie “Armagadon” instead of deep drilling into an asteroid-it will probably be involved in a bomb blast.
Last year, American researchers tested this theory on a marble-shaped mock asteroid in the lab that an atomic explosion would evaporate its surface and send it to shoots in the opposite direction.
Even separating the moral, political and legal issues of sending the nose into space, it is considered more about a final-khai plan for Kilometrous-Wide Asteroids, such as dinosaurs were killed Was.
And then, there is a risk that an atomic explosion can still send unexpected changes to the Earth.
Laser
With less dangerous but similar lines, another idea is to shoot the laser beam from a spacecraft, which pushes it away, to evaporate the side of an asteroid.
Lab experiments show that the scheme is viable, but it is not one of the “top techniques”, which is being seen, Bates said.
if all else fails
If necessary, it is “remarkable to def mest, but it depends on the speed on which we move as a planet”, MoissL said.
While experts and space agencies will make themselves recommendations, eventually the world leaders will decide on how to deal with the asteroid.
If everything else fails, we will have a good idea of ​​the strike zone of the asteroid – which is not a “planet killer” and mostly can threaten a city, the moisl said.
This means that if the area is populated, including the preparation of the effect, potentially withdrawals, will be the last line of defense.
“There is a long time to prepare seven years,” Moisl said, again insisting that about 97 percent of the chance is that asteroid will remember the Earth.
(Except for the headline, the story has not been edited by NDTV employees and is published by a syndicated feed.)
