According to a 2021 study, a one-megaton nuclear device could destroy a 330-foot asteroid if it’s detonated at least two months before impact. The radiation from the detonation would bake the asteroid’s surface, creating enough force to move the asteroid off course. 

According to NASA, a series of standoff nuclear explosions would be the most effective way to deflect an asteroid. A subsurface nuclear explosion is the most efficient use of nuclear explosives. 

Some consider nuclear weapons a last resort for asteroid defense. However, if time is short, sending a nuclear explosive device into space could be the only effective remedy. 

The United States government released a National Planetary Defense Strategy in April 2023 to improve the country’s preparedness for NEO impacts over a 10-year period.

Some consider nuclear weapons a last resort for asteroid defense. According to a NASA article, a nuclear detonation could be the only strategy that would be effective for the largest and most dangerous asteroids. 

The nuclear option would be a last resort, but also said it was the most powerful approach and the only one that could be used against very large objects. 

According to NASA, a nuclear device could detonate near enough so the radiation bakes the asteroid’s surface. This would, in theory, produce enough propulsive force to move the asteroid off course. 

According to Patrick Michel, an asteroid expert at the Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur, using a nuclear blast to obliterate an interplanetary interloper “will always be the last resort”. But if we are short on time, it may be our only hope. 

However, two major nuclear arms control treaties specifically forbid that approach

The Earth’s atmosphere and oceans protect us from small asteroids and meteoroids. Most of these objects burn up in the atmosphere before they reach the ground

Here are some other ways to defend against asteroids: 

• High-speed impactor Send an object with a high mass close to the Earth into a collision course with the asteroid. 
• Spacecraft collision When the asteroid is still far from the Earth, directly alter its momentum by colliding a spacecraft with the asteroid. 
• Nuclear explosives A series of standoff nuclear explosions would be the most effective way to deflect an asteroid headed for Earth. 

According to The Planetary Society, given enough time and preparation, it is possible to defend our planet from dangerous asteroids. Small nudges to a near-Earth asteroid’s path can have big long-term consequences, turning a direct hit into a near-miss. 

If a NASA deflecting mission fails, scientists believe the safest place would be an underground bunker

According to BBC Science Focus, it’s possible to stop an asteroid from hitting Earth, but it would be difficult and expensive. The key is to deflect the asteroid away from its collision course with Earth, rather than shattering it into equally dangerous debris. 

Here are some other ways to stop an asteroid: 

• Laser Bees: A swarm of small spacecraft, each carrying a small laser, could be sent to a threatening NEO. Over time, the small thrust can significantly change the trajectory of an asteroid. 
• Gravity: Use the gravity of a large spacecraft to pull the asteroid off course. 
• Kinetic impactor: Send an object with a high mass close to the Earth into a collision course with the asteroid. This technique requires smacking an asteroid to change its orbit around the sun so it no longer is a threat to Earth. NASA’s DART Mission confirmed that NASA can successfully navigate a spacecraft to intentionally collide with an asteroid to deflect it. 

According to HowStuffWorks, a nuclear bomb could be used to blow up a small asteroid, but it’s unlikely that world leaders would waste expensive resources on that endeavor. As for large, Earth-threatening asteroids, a nuke likely wouldn’t succeed at blowing it up completely.

Laser ablation is a technique that uses high-intensity laser light to deflect asteroids. The laser light absorbs energy, which causes the asteroid’s surface material to sublimate and create a plume of gas and ejecta. This plume of gas acts against the asteroid, creating a small but continuous thrust

The time it takes to deflect an asteroid using laser ablation depends on a number of factors, but it could take between 1 and 10 years. The bigger the laser, the shorter the time needed. For example, a 20 kW laser could deflect a 300-meter-wide asteroid in 15 years. Smaller asteroids could be deflected in under a year

Yes, NASA has successfully moved an asteroid. In 2022, NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission crashed a spacecraft into the asteroid Dimorphos. The mission successfully altered the asteroid’s orbit, moving it closer to its partner asteroid and reducing its orbit time by 32 minutes. 

According to Reuters, the DART mission was the first time humanity has altered the motion of a celestial body. The asteroid was not a threat to Earth, but NASA used it for target practice to learn how to defend Earth from more dangerous asteroids

It’s possible for a planet to capture an asteroid, but it’s highly unlikely. Asteroids are usually traveling too fast for a planet’s gravity to affect their trajectories. 

An asteroid capture occurs when an asteroid “misses” a planet but doesn’t have enough velocity to escape the planet’s orbit. The asteroid then enters a stable orbit around the planet, outside of the planet’s atmosphere. 

To capture an asteroid around Earth, you can reduce its energy so it has less kinetic energy than needed to escape Earth’s gravity. 

In 2012, the Keck Institute described a spacecraft that could intercept an asteroid. The spacecraft would use a 50-foot capture bag to enclose the asteroid and maneuver it using rocket engines. 

NASA has also captured samples from asteroids. In 2016, the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft collected samples from the surface of the near-Earth asteroid Bennu.

According to Quora, bringing an entire asteroid to Earth would be a very difficult and likely impossible task. However, there have been several proposed missions to bring a small asteroid or asteroid sample back to Earth. 

For example, NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission successfully collected a sample from the asteroid Bennu in 2020. 

Asteroid mining is expected to be cheaper than sending resources from Earth. The “pitcher” and “catcher” spacecraft model could allow asteroids to be quickly pushed towards Earth for mining. 

For asteroids too big for a robot to handle, a large spacecraft could fly near the object to act as a gravity tractor. This would deflect the asteroid’s trajectory, sending it toward Earth.

If an asteroid impact is unavoidable, scientists believe the safest place to be is underground. According to Forbes, many species that burrowed or lived in the deep sea survived the mass extinction 66 million years ago, and bunkers could also save humans. 

When an asteroid hits Earth, it releases dust, debris, and toxic gases that can linger in the atmosphere for decades. This can prevent sunlight from reaching the Earth, causing the temperature to drop and potentially leading to the death of many living things. 

According to Space.com, Earth is probably safe from a devastating asteroid impact for at least 1,000 years.

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