Scientists are exploring whether they might save the Earth with a plot from a sci-fi disaster movie.
A study released this month investigated whether nukes could be fired “millions of miles” into space to prevent catastrophic asteroids from destroying the planet.
Researchers with the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) developed a modeling tool that could assess that possibility after a 2022 mission from NASA that successfully deflected a giant space rock.
The new tool, detailed in the Journal of Planetary Science, helps scientists understand whether other options can be used after NASA used a kinetic attacker, in this case a spacecraft, to knock a 2022 asteroid off course during the Double Asteroid Redirect Test (DART). ) mission.
“If we had enough warning time, we could potentially launch a nuclear device, sending it millions of miles away to an asteroid heading toward Earth,” LLNL physicist Mary Burkey, who led the research team, said in a statement.
Nuclear devices have a higher percentage of energy density per unit than kinetic impactors used by space agencies, which would make them a more effective method against asteroids, Burkey said.
When the device makes contact with the asteroid, there are two possible scenarios.
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Physicist Mary Burkey. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
“We will then detonate the device and either deflect the asteroid, keeping it intact but giving it a controlled push away from Earth, or we can disrupt the asteroid, breaking it into small, fast-moving fragments that will also miss the planet,” Burkey stated.
Advanced multiphysics simulations run by LLNL include a variety of factors that will help determine whether a nuclear deflection mission will succeed, he said.
Nukes can prevent asteroids from hurtling toward planets. Mary Burkey /Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
If a real-life threat to Earth materializes, the modeling will help decision makers determine how to proceed against asteroids, said LLNL’s planetary defense project leader, Megan Bruck Syal.
“Although the probability of a large asteroid impact in our lifetime is low, the consequences could potentially be devastating,” Bruck Syal said in a statement.
But there are risks associated with firing a nuke on a collision course with an asteroid.
Fragments from an exploded asteroid could still be large enough to hurt Earth, an asteroid expert previously told the New York Times.
“If you miscalculate the energy you need to destroy it, you might create a lot of fragments,” says Dr Patrick Michel.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
