NASA considers the possibility of destroying an asteroid nuclear charge before it flew to the moon

Vlad Cherevko I have been interested in all kinds of electronics and technologies since the early 2000s. I like to play computer games and understand the work of different gadgets. I regularly monitor the news of the technology in the world and write materials about it.

NASA studies the scenario of neutralization of asteroid 2024 YR4, which moves in the direction of the moon and can be a danger to it. About it writes Notebookcheck with reference to ARXIV.

According to experts, the likelihood of collision of an asteroid with a natural satellite of the Earth is about 4%, but in the case of impact, fragments can create risks to orbital satellites in the Earth orbit.

Teams from the Goodard Space Flight Center, the laboratory of jet traffic, Jones Hopkins University and several national laboratories are involved in work on possible solutions. The main difficulty is the uncertainty about the size and mass of the asteroid. That is why two options are considered, one of which involves the use of nuclear charge.

According to this plan, it is proposed to use a device with a power of about one megaton. The calculations show that the explosion can cut the asteroid into smaller fragments and reject their trajectories, reducing the likelihood of contact with the moon or ground.

Engineers rely on the data obtained with the James Web Space Telescope. According to their forecasts, technology can be ready for practical use between 2029 and 2031. This is about a year before the possible rapprochement of 2024 YR4 with a month.

Despite the low likelihood of impact, NASA continues to track the trajectory of the object. In case of change of traffic parameters, the agency plans to have ready -made response scenarios to minimize potential consequences.