Chinese scientists propose nuclear detonation inside asteroid using 2 spacecraft
Chinese scientists have designed a two-step method to protect Earth from big asteroids.
Their idea: use two spacecraft, one to punch a hole in the asteroid and another to set off a nuclear explosion inside it.
This approach, from the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, aims to either knock the asteroid off course or break it apart, keeping our planet safe from disaster.
Method could destroy 100m asteroid
The first spacecraft fires a metal penetrator at high speed, making a cavity in the asteroid. The second then places and detonates a nuclear device deep inside.
Simulations show that burying the blast 30 meters down could boost the asteroid's velocity change more than three times compared to blowing it up on the surface.
Researchers say this could destroy an asteroid about 100 meters wide and might be a viable emergency option if other defenses fail.