Science Memes

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submitted 1 day ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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[–] TrojanRoomCoffeePot 5 points 21 hours ago (4 children)

Odds are low, but not zero. Still a bit of a nothingburger now that we've been able to successfully land probes on asteroids to sample their contents (and even send back video similar to images taken by Mars rovers). Strap a small thermonuclear warhead to an unmanned probe and redirect its trajectory - not a simple matter but entirely feasible.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 hour ago

Make a probe with a giant fuel tank and engine land on the asteroid then just fire away to push it slightly off target so it misses the planet. Don't need to destroy just alter the trajectory a tiny bit.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 17 hours ago

Don't even need a warhead. The Double Asteroid Redirect Test (DART) just threw the probe itself at an asteroid hard enough to affect its orbit.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 20 hours ago* (last edited 20 hours ago) (2 children)

Unmanned? Nah, lets just assemble a team of oil drillers and send them up there like space cowboys.

[–] Glytch 8 points 19 hours ago

It'll be easier to teach drillers to fly shuttles than it would be to teach astronauts how to dig a hole.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 16 hours ago (1 children)

Wouldn't it be easier to train astronauts to drill?

[–] Test_Tickles 2 points 10 hours ago

Nah, you see this mission needs someone real smart. And when someone talks about smart people in smart professions, do you think about astronauts? No of course not. (Unless they are really really old astronauts, like geriatric, then yes.) instead you think about rough necks. That's right, you think of guys who drill holes in the ground.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 15 hours ago

Wtf, no, the way to deflect an asteroid is to send something near it while it's far away. Blowing it up just risks another smaller asteroid hitting us. Small changes in direction while incredibly fast away will change its path enough to be safe.