A group of researchers, with the support of the American space agency NASA, are already thinking about how to minimize a potential catastrophe from a huge asteroid flying towards Earth at a speed of 30 km / s.
We are talking about a potentially dangerous asteroid called 99942 Apophis. According to NASA, it will be as close to Earth as possible on April 13, 2029. This space object has already been dubbed the 'planet killer' due to the fact that an asteroid of this size will come so close to our planet for the first time.
Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are confident that the likelihood of the destruction of our planet Earth is still unlikely. But Apophis' trajectory depends on all kinds of gravity and debris. MIT's Asteroid Tracking Service reports:
'On April 13, 2029, an icy piece of space rock, as high as the Eiffel Tower, will fly over the Earth at a speed of 30 kilometers per second, at the height of the planet's geostationary satellites. It will be the closest flyby of one of the largest asteroids to cross Earth's orbit in the next decade. '
'Observations of the asteroid have shown that its 2029 flyby could possibly pass through a gravitational' keyhole '- a place in Earth's gravitational field that will stretch the asteroid's trajectory so that on its next flyby, in 2036, it will most likely collide with Earth and make a destructive impact.
Fortunately, later observations have confirmed that the asteroid will move across Earth without incident in 2029 and 2036.
'However, most scientists believe it's never too early to consider deflection strategies for an asteroid.'
Until now, collision avoidance techniques have included the use of a 'kinetic impactor' sent into space to sink into the rock.
There is also the option of sending a 'scout' for the first gain measurements to hit the target with the required projectile as accurately as possible.
Scientists are also considering the option of sending two 'scouts' at once, so that one provides the necessary information, and the other pushes the stone away from a dangerous trajectory.
