Diverting an Asteroid is Possible

Humans can now successfully guide a satellite into an asteroid, but more importantly we now know that if you shoot a satellite into an asteroid at 6.6 kilometers per second (23,760 kph) it is possible to slightly push an asteroid out of an orbit.   Given enough time a small push could be enough to divert an asteroid away from earth and prevent Armageddon.

Thankfully we have a predicted 100 years until we will need technology like DART, but The International Asteroid Warning Network (IAWN) is meeting in Vienna next month to discuss the next steps of a planetary defense plan.

Image: Image: Shutterstock: mapush

Produced By: Dominic Giles

Featured In Story: Professor Fred Watson, Australia’s Astronomer at Large

First aired on The Wire, Tuesday 14 March 2023