WASHINGTON: The blockbuster film Armageddon depicted how the Earth was faced with the threat of a direct collision with a giant asteroid from space. The disaster was averted, however, through the efforts of several government agencies that blew up the massive space rock using a nuclear device.
In case of a similar event happening in real life, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the European Space Agency (ESA) have both devised their own contingency plan to prevent a worldwide catastrophe.
While NASA’s plan adopts elements from the film Armageddon, especially the use of satellites to set off nuclear explosions on asteroids, the ESA’s plan features a gentler strategy of using a device called a kinetic impactor to blast space rocks with projectiles in order to deflect them from Earth.
The space agency’s proposal, called Asteroid Impact Mission (AIM), also includes a plan to pull asteroids closer to the planet for prospecting if they are discovered to be rich in minerals.
The ESA’s first target for the AIM is a pair of asteroids known as Didymos, which was spotted by different telescopes from the world.
The main body of the space rock measures at 800 meters (half a mile) in diameter, and it is orbited by a 170-meter (approx. 558 feet) moon named Didymoon. Both objects were at a location favorable for observation by Earth scientists March to June.
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