Sort of along similar lines, this article was in phys.org about a week ago.
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In two papers on the topic of terminal planetary defense submitted to the journal
Advances in Space Research, accompanied by an opinion piece published in
Scientific American, Lubin and co-researcher Alexander Cohen lay out a more proactive method for dealing with dangerous extraterrestrial space debris. The project is called PI, which affectionately stands for Pulverize It.
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"While we often say that nothing in life is certain but death and taxes, we can certainly also add human extinction to this list," Lubin said. "There is a large asteroid or comet lurking in our solar system with 'Earth' written on it. We just do not know where it is or when it will hit."
In the last 113 years, the Earth has been hit by two large asteroids that could have threatened the lives of millions, had they struck over a major city. However, humanity was lucky. In light of this very real threat, it is time to seriously plan for and execute a planetary defense program, the researchers say. PI allows for a logical and cost-effective approach to the ultimate environmental protection program.
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Key to the PI strategy is the deployment of an array of penetrator rods, possibly filled with explosives, laid in the path of the asteroid to "slice and dice" the threatening object. The penetrator rods—about 4-12 inches (10-30 cm) in diameter and six to ten feet long—fragment the asteroid or comet nucleus as it crashes into them at extreme speed.
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