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A study on nuclear potential was published this month.
NASA/AFP (via Getty Images)
Scientists are studying whether the plots of sci-fi disaster movies can be used to save the planet.
the study released this month They investigated whether nuclear weapons could be launched “millions of miles” into space to prevent the destruction of Earth by a catastrophic asteroid.
Researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) have developed a modeling tool that can quickly assess that possibility. NASA’s 2022 Mission It successfully misdirected a giant space rock.
The new tool, detailed in the Planetary Science Journal, comes after NASA deploys a kinetic impactor (in this case a spacecraft) to deorbit the 2022 asteroid during the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART). , helps scientists understand whether alternative options are at their disposal. ) Mission.
“With enough warning time, we could launch a nuclear device and send it millions of miles away to an asteroid headed toward Earth,” said LLNL physicist Mary Barkey. the research team said in a statement.
Barkey noted that nuclear devices have a higher per unit energy density rate than the kinetic impactors used by space agencies, making them a more effective method against asteroids.
If a device comes into contact with an asteroid, there are two possible scenarios.
“The device could then be detonated, redirecting the asteroid and moving it away from Earth with controlled pressure while keeping it intact, or destroying the asteroid and breaking it into smaller, faster-moving pieces. It could hit a planet,” Barkey pointed out.
The advanced multiphysics simulations operated by LLNL cover a wide range of factors that will help determine whether a nuclear deflection mission will be successful, she said.
Megan Brooke Shull, director of LLNL’s planetary defense project, said the model could help decision makers determine how to respond to asteroids if a real threat to Earth materializes. Said it would be helpful.
“Although the probability of a large asteroid impacting us in our lifetime is low, the potential impact could be devastating,” Brooke Shull said in a statement.
But launching a nuclear weapon on a collision course with an asteroid comes with risks.
Asteroid experts say fragments of a blasted asteroid could still be large enough to cause damage to Earth He previously told the New York Times.
“If you miscalculate the energy required to break it up, you can generate a lot of debris,” says Dr. Patrick Michel.
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