Chinese scientists want to divert an asteroid away from Earth. This week, they want to pull one into orbit around the Earth.
Whatâs possible objections could anyone have to this idea?
Thatâs where a handful of Chinese researchers at Tsinghua University in Beijing come in.
The idea isnât simply to flirt with cataclysmic danger, but to bring a small object into a loop around the Earth so we can study it closely for a few years.
If we can get the art of capturing asteroids orbitally down to a science, we could use it to temporarily make asteroids into Earth-bound satellites mine them for minerals, and then send them on their ways.
http://www.popsci.com/technology/ar...s-hatch-plan-pull-asteroid-orbit-around-earth
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><img src="http://www.popsci.com/files/imagecache/article_image_large/articles/Asteroid%20capture.png" class="imagecache imagecache-article_image_large" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-top-color: rgb(222, 222, 222); border-right-color: rgb(222, 222, 222); border-bottom-color: rgb(222, 222, 222); border-left-color: rgb(222, 222, 222); border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; display: block; " />
<div class="summary" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 5px; padding-right: 13px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-weight: bold; font-style: inherit; font-size: 11px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-align: left; line-height: 1.4em; "><span class="img-title" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 11px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; ">Pictured: Humans Tempting God to Smite Them</span> <span class="pic-credit" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-weight: normal; font-style: italic; font-size: 11px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-align: right; ">Hexi Baoyin, Yang Chen, Junfeng Li via<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://arxiv.org/abs/1108.4767" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-weight: bold; font-style: inherit; font-size: 11px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 104, 165); text-decoration: none; ">arXiv</a></span>
</div></span>
What if they get it wrong and the asteroid crashes into earth causing a dinosaur-extinction type of event????? This is irresponsible and rogue science!
Whatâs possible objections could anyone have to this idea?
Thatâs where a handful of Chinese researchers at Tsinghua University in Beijing come in.
The idea isnât simply to flirt with cataclysmic danger, but to bring a small object into a loop around the Earth so we can study it closely for a few years.
If we can get the art of capturing asteroids orbitally down to a science, we could use it to temporarily make asteroids into Earth-bound satellites mine them for minerals, and then send them on their ways.
http://www.popsci.com/technology/ar...s-hatch-plan-pull-asteroid-orbit-around-earth
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><img src="http://www.popsci.com/files/imagecache/article_image_large/articles/Asteroid%20capture.png" class="imagecache imagecache-article_image_large" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-top-color: rgb(222, 222, 222); border-right-color: rgb(222, 222, 222); border-bottom-color: rgb(222, 222, 222); border-left-color: rgb(222, 222, 222); border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; display: block; " />
<div class="summary" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 5px; padding-right: 13px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-weight: bold; font-style: inherit; font-size: 11px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-align: left; line-height: 1.4em; "><span class="img-title" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 11px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; ">Pictured: Humans Tempting God to Smite Them</span> <span class="pic-credit" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-weight: normal; font-style: italic; font-size: 11px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-align: right; ">Hexi Baoyin, Yang Chen, Junfeng Li via<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://arxiv.org/abs/1108.4767" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-weight: bold; font-style: inherit; font-size: 11px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 104, 165); text-decoration: none; ">arXiv</a></span>
</div></span>
What if they get it wrong and the asteroid crashes into earth causing a dinosaur-extinction type of event????? This is irresponsible and rogue science!