this post was submitted on 20 Feb 2025
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Odds are low, but not zero. Still a bit of a nothingburger now that we've been able to successfully land probes on asteroids to sample their contents (and even send back video similar to images taken by Mars rovers). Strap a small thermonuclear warhead to an unmanned probe and redirect its trajectory - not a simple matter but entirely feasible.
Unmanned? Nah, lets just assemble a team of oil drillers and send them up there like space cowboys.
It'll be easier to teach drillers to fly shuttles than it would be to teach astronauts how to dig a hole.
Wouldn't it be easier to train astronauts to drill?
Nah, you see this mission needs someone real smart. And when someone talks about smart people in smart professions, do you think about astronauts? No of course not. (Unless they are really really old astronauts, like geriatric, then yes.) instead you think about rough necks. That's right, you think of guys who drill holes in the ground.
Make a probe with a giant fuel tank and engine land on the asteroid then just fire away to push it slightly off target so it misses the planet. Don't need to destroy just alter the trajectory a tiny bit.
You're right, but the nuke is a good backup plan too. Beyond that, the UFO community has been saying for years that NHI's explicitly told human leaders to never use nuclear weapons in space (or else), and I want to know if it's true or not...
Don't even need a warhead. The Double Asteroid Redirect Test (DART) just threw the probe itself at an asteroid hard enough to affect its orbit.
Wtf, no, the way to deflect an asteroid is to send something near it while it's far away. Blowing it up just risks another smaller asteroid hitting us. Small changes in direction while incredibly fast away will change its path enough to be safe.
Holdup, your user avatar can be a GIF too?!
I have no idea, I had this on my computer so I uploaded it and it works. It works on some front ends and apps and not on others. I was just happy with the magic and used it!