[cogitator]

I've always thought that this would be a good idea.

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[newgeezer]

a proposed demonstration mission to develop technology for deflecting an asteroid

Ping.

Words fail me.

[robertpaulsen]

Do the math.

An asteroid is approaching at 70,000mph. NASA expects a decade of warning (other parts of the article say "decades or more"). In 10 years, that asteroid travels over 6 billion miles at that speed.

We're able to detect and track a 200 meter rock 6 billion miles away? That's way outside Pluto's orbit. And that's only a decade of warning.

We send out a mission at 70,000mph (Apollo only accelerated to 1/3 that speed), they'll meet only 5 years out.

[Robert A Cook PE]

YO THE PHYSICS GROUP!

Assume you have a 100 Meg ton yield H-bomb (They're not common, since most nuclear bombs are much smaller, but a few were made by us and the Russians) ....

What size crater is created from a ground blast of that weapon?

It would appear that (at a minimum) a "totally blown up" asteroid/comet of 2x the crater size would be blown into so many small fragments that the remains would get heated and destroyed. (Granted, the residue is still present, but amll pieces are not a threat - the atmosphere slows them. As far as city-destroying solid blocks at least)

Radiation? Fallout?

Sure. Some. Spread out and dispersed across milions of square miles is a publicity, not practical, problem.

And trivial compared to the impact of a solid block 300-600 yards across on a country. City. Area.

[RightWhale]

I have no respect for these people who petition Congress for funds when they should be presenting their business plans to private investors. Welfare mothers, all.

[LonghornFreeper]

>>I have no respect for these people who petition Congress for funds when they should be presenting their business plans to private investors. Welfare mothers, all.

What are you smoking? What private investor is ever going to pay upfront for a mission to "save the earth". That is like asking private industry to pay for national defense, but even more ridiculous because the threat from foreign countries is much more obvious and immediate than that from some as yet unknown asteroid. That doesn't mean we shouldn't prepare. If an impact like the one that occured in Russia in the early 1900's occured in a heavily populated area millions could die. No reason to believe it couldn't happen again.