Humanity Will Slam a Spacecraft into an Asteroid in a Few Years to Help Save Us All

Space.com ^ | January 2, 2019 | Meghan Bartels

[LouieFisk]

"Save us all"? Heh.

[Red Badger]

The laws of physics are written in stone.

The laws of unintended consequences are not................

[BenLurkin]

IBU

[Buckeye McFrog]

Humanity Will Slam a Spacecraft into an Asteroid in a Few Years to Help Save Us All

and Danica Patrick will be chosen to drive it. {cymbal crash}

[Army Air Corps]

Humanity Will Slam a Spacecraft into an Asteroid

Are there Kennedys in the astronaut corps?

[Redcitizen]

Only if the asteroid lands in the water.

[ronnie raygun]

Aim it right for the house of representatives

[tet68]

Actually, “humanity” won’t do squat.
America will.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

With apologies to Douglas Adams:

Mr. Prosser: "Mr. Dent. Do you know how much damage this asteroid will suffer if I send a spacecraft to slam straight into it?"
Arthur Dent: "No. How much?"
Mr. Prosser: "None at all."

[Delta 21]

HA HA

[printhead]

And its’ new trajectory will send it where?

[Red Badger]

Imagine the irony if it went into an elongated orbit that was no danger for a hundred years, totally forgotten about, then it would suddenly reappear and on a collision course with Earth................

[Colinsky]

We’ve done this before. On July 4, 2005, “Deep Impact” smacked into comet Tempei 1.

It was roughly comparable to a hummingbird colliding with an aircraft carrier.

[Renegade]

California I hope!

[LouieFisk]

“On July 4, 2005, “Deep Impact” smacked into comet Tempei 1.”
—
I dunno if it had the same objective here, though - to assess the possibility of deflecting an earth-threatening object.

I remember the first unmanned shots at the Moon back in the 60s, they just crashed those suckers right into it. Got those cool black and white photos with the little “crosshairs” on them sent back before the big smashups.

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

“Nice little planet you got here. Be ashamed if some asteroid slammed into it in about thirty years. Why not give me some money each week and I’ll make sure nothing happens in thirty years.”

[LouieFisk]

Besides that, we have just a small talent for war.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ck3Gw_yDTMU

[JimRed]

Instead of a slam and hope, make a planned soft contact and have an engine fire to nudge the object into a different track, away from Earth.

[LouieFisk]

Ooops, wrong link - unless you speaka de Russki!
Here ya go -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbT1fCHOjfI

[Don W]

Just what I was thinking: What could POSSIBLY go wrong?