Team of scientists believe nuclear explosion can counter asteroid on way to hit Earth; conduct lab experiment - Greater Kashmir

Srinagar, Sept 23: Asteroid entering Earth’s atmosphere is surprisingly regular, with NASA estimates saying a staggering 48.5 tonnes of meteoric material entering our planet daily. Most burn up, producing shooting stars.

Although devastating asteroid impacts are rare in Earth’s history.

In the face of potentially catastrophic asteroid impacts, scientists are racing to develop innovative solutions to protect our planet.

Scientists in New Mexico are exploring a futuristic solution to counter big asteroid threats, they say.

The way is to harnessing X-ray blasts from nuclear explosions, NDTV reported.

Scientists at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque have successfully demonstrated a revolutionary method to deflect incoming asteroids using nuclear explosions.

For the experiment, researchers harnessed the power of X-rays from a nuclear blast to vaporise the surface of a nearby asteroid.

The process works by unleashing an immense pulse of radiation, heating the asteroid’s surface to tens of thousands of degrees.

This creates a rapidly expanding ball of gas that can nudge the asteroid off its catastrophic course.

By precisely calculating the blast’s impact, scientists believe this technique can effectively push threatening asteroids away from Earth, potentially saving humanity from doomsday.

“The primary mechanism involves using X-rays to rapidly heat the target surface, causing it to vaporize and expand into the adjacent vacuum. The expanding gas pushes against the asteroid, transferring momentum (in the opposite direction),” authors of the study published Monday in the journal Nature Physics wrote.

Scientists noted that the nuclear option is for larger asteroids, particularly when time is short.

“If there is enough warning time, one can certainly deflect larger asteroids,” Dr Nathan Moore, the first author of the study said.

Mr Moore and his team plan to conduct further experimental tests to refine the X-ray deflection technique, building on their initial success.

Their goal is to enhance the method’s effectiveness through additional laboratory experiments.

Ultimately, they envision a space-based demonstration, similar to NASA’s DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test) mission, to test the technique on a real asteroid.