Don’t worry, no asteroid is currently slated to destroy Earth right now. The closest one, the 99942 Apophis, still only has a 1 in 250,000 shot in touching us. We’re safe. We’re fine. No need to fire up the Aerosmith. It’s just that scientists from the European Space Agency want to see if blowing up an asteroid is possible. They’re curious, as I’m sure Michael Bay once was, at finding out what would scientifically happen.
So they’re planning the Armageddon IRL mission for 2015. But instead of sending a perfectly misfit team of oil drillers to space, they’ll be hurtling a satellite straight into the asteroid to see if it’s a potential Earth-saving move. The mission, officially called Don Quixote, will send a ~500kg satellite named Hidalgo flying into an asteroid at 9.6km/s. Another satellite will be in the vicinity to see if the asteroid changes paths. The hope is, of course, that it does move a bit, so we know how to protect ourselves in the future if Armageddon were to really happen.
Let’s hope we don’t alter the path so much that the asteroid starts heading straight to Earth. [Daily Mail]
Dave
Thursday, August 18, 2011 at 8:37 AMSo what happen if it does change path and that path has earth in it?
Martin
Thursday, August 18, 2011 at 9:13 PMThrow another satellite at it!
tim
Thursday, August 18, 2011 at 8:38 AMHave you seen Armageddon? The ESA mission is nothing at all like the movie. There is no comparison.
Jester
Thursday, August 18, 2011 at 12:27 PMSeriously tim, you felt the need to point that out? If you want purely factual reports with no humour or creative license, go and read Nature. Life must be boring in your head.
Martin
Thursday, August 18, 2011 at 9:18 PMThis is the story to Asylum’s next mockbuster…
James
Monday, September 19, 2011 at 1:14 PMto quote armageddon “that would be like shooting a BB gun at a freight train”