Planetary defense test deflected an asteroid but unleashed a boulder swarm
Planetary defense test deflected an asteroid but unleashed a boulder swarm
A UCLA-led study of NASA’s DART mission determined that the strategy presents previously unanticipated risks.
![Planetary defense test deflected an asteroid but unleashed a boulder swarm](https://beehaw.org/pictrs/image/10f41f96-2618-4095-bed7-eb759ddb82af.webp?format=webp&thumbnail=256)
Good news: smaller pieces burn up much easier in the atmosphere, so in the case of an actual asteroid deflection it's still a net gain.
Bad news: more potential navigation hazards.
I think that's a fair trade.
28 0 ReplyAlso, dispersing the boulders early enough means that most of them would miss Earth anyway.
I wouldn't really consider them navigation hazards, space is really big and boulders are really small. You'd have to aim a probe really precisely at one in order to hit it.
15 0 ReplyWe won't have to use this defense mechanism very often anyway. Fingers crossed.
6 0 Reply
Well, it is still better to get hit with a dozen Hiroshima-nuke-scale impacts than a single dinosaur-killer-scale impact.
Statistically, the majority of them should hit ocean anyway.
9 0 Reply