Scientists test how to deflect asteroids with nuclear blasts

A study looks at how to use nuclear detonations to prevent asteroids from hitting Earth.

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Researchers studied strategies that could deflect a large asteroid from hitting Earth.
They focused on the effect of detonating a nuclear device near an asteroid.
Varying the amount and location of the energy released could affect the deflection.

Large asteroids don't tend to hit Earth very often. But when they do, major cataclysms result. Remember the dinosaurs?

Add to this the fact that since 1998, scientists have detected about 25,000 near-Earth asteroids, while in 2020 alone, a record 107 of them came closer to our planet than the distance to the moon. With so many asteroids floating by, protecting our planet from impacts by these giant space bodies is an existential priority.

To prepare for the day when an asteroid will be heading our way, a joint study published in Acta Astronautica from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and the Air Force, looked at how to use neutron energy output from a nuclear blast to deflect such a threat.

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