Nukes Are Not the Best Way to Stop an Asteroid

[flashl]

Says a man who knows

Aired

By Aaron Rowe Email
July 27, 2008

Nuclear weapons could be used to stop earth-bound asteroids, but in most instances, they are not the best option, said Apollo astronaut Rusty Schweickart during a public lecture this Wednesday in San Francisco.

The venerable scientist explained that all but the largest heavenly bodies can be redirected by rear-ending or towing them with an unmanned spacecraft. But last year, NASA issued a report stating that using nukes is the best strategy to prevent a catastrophic collision with earth.

Although Schweickart has a great deal of faith in the agency, enough to risk his life piloting their lunar lander, he feels that they issued the misleading statement -- under immense political pressure. It was a nefarious excuse to put nuclear weapons in space.

His own organization, the B612 Foundation, intends to use gentler tactics to alter the course of an asteroid by 2015.

[Hydra]

1. I swear, everyone is going nuke-happy?

What's going to happen when we figure out how to produce large quantities of anti-matter? Are we going to use that as a cure-all, as well?

[AndyTiedye]

2. Doesn't Even Work in the Movies

[Indenturedebtor]

3. Excuse to weaponise space is right

The best defense is more funding for sky surveys so that we can spot them well in advance and nudge them off course.