Set an asteroid to stop an asteroid

[whisky]

Whenever I see how NASA would try to stop a large asteroid from hitting the earth, I always wonder, why dont they just try and capture some small ones, attatch rockets, possibly ion drive ones so you get a lot of thrust from not a lot of fuel, then put them into earth orbit.

Then if an asteroid does come on a direct path with earth, instead of trying to blow up miles of rock with missles, or try to use rockets on an asteroid with too big a mass, you just fire off your small asteroid on a collision course with teh big one, and either smash it, or knock it off course and away from the earth.

 

[Cranky Bastard]

Let it hit. If it wipes us all, none of us will care, will we?

 

[whisky]

Yes

 

[Cranky Bastard]

Will not. We'll be dead.

 

[whisky]

Not all asteroids are the end of the world, some just make city sized holes, if it lands on your city, I wont be dead, but you will be

 

[Cranky Bastard]

Asteroids that can wipe out a city have devastating effects on the atmosphere. They break up on entry, so if something remains that can wipe a city off a map, then the original size fubared the atmosphere.

The meteor that wiped out the dinosaurs is postulated as not having been very big.

 

[The Harlot]

Hemroids hurt