NASA started the plan to protect the Earth

To protect the Earth, NASA recently launched the "Space Defense Project ", in case the asteroid Aophis hits Earth in 2036.

According to calculations by the US National Aviation Administration (NASA), in 2029 asteroid Apophis will glide over the Earth and will hit Earth in 2036. The impact of this asteroid will be much more devastating than the Southeast Asian tsunami in December 2004.

The collision is equivalent to 11 thousand atomic bombs!

Image of an asteroid (Photos from foreign websites)

To protect the safety of the Earth, NASA recently launched the first step of the "Space Defense Project", deciding to install Apophis' exact trajectory device, starting "Protection war." Earth".

Apophis is one of 800 asteroids capable of threatening the earth, long known to scientists, it is also one of the few celestial bodies astronomers hope to study more clearly. .

Asteroids are some celestial bodies that fly around the sun but are small enough to reach the planet's standards. Asteroids may have a diameter of up to 1000km, but may also be as small as pebbles. There are currently 16 asteroids with a diameter of over 240km, they fly in space between the orbit of Earth and Saturn. But the majority of asteroids are concentrated in the area between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, orbits of some asteroids cut with Earth's orbit and some asteroids have also collided. with Earth.

The name of asteroids is named after the person who discovered them. Previously, people often took the names of the Goddesses to name them, and they often used the names of people, place names, names of flowers, and even the initials of an organization. Apophis is a small planet near the Earth flying in the solar system with an unstable shape. The diameter of this planet is only about 320m, weighing about 42 thousand tons. The planet was discovered in June 2004, then lost traces until June 2005 to be rediscovered.

According to calculations and observations by NASA scientists, by 2029, the distance between Apophis and Earth is only 29996.78km. This distance is closer to Earth than some information satellites. When approaching Earth, the planet's speed reaches 5.9 km / sec.

It is expected that on April 13, 2029, Apophis asteroid will glide over the Earth with a light trail in the sky, now Apophis will light up as a third-degree constant, this will be a constant glow in the sky The first human space can be seen with the naked eye from Africa, Europe and Asia.

At that time, the attraction of the Earth would cause this object to be twisted in the form of complex shaking motion, the torque produced by gravity could also cause Apophis to crack.

After gliding through the Earth, Earth's gravity changed the state of itself and the orbits of this planet, so 7 years later it will return to hit Earth.

Apophis' impact force is enough to vanish Texas State of America or two European countries. This destructive collision will generate energy equivalent to 11,000 Hirosima atomic bombs.

In the " Seminar on safety of asteroids and comets " held in St. Petersburg, the Russian astronomer Schweickart gave a hypothetical model: if Apophis hit the Earth in the Pacific Ocean will create waves as high as 200 meters, dust from asteroids when impacted will cover 1/4 Earth, people and species living in this area will die from cold or hunger .

Talk about the plan, save the Earth

Asteroids will collide with Earth like this .?(Artwork from foreign website)

To avoid the risk of Earth being destroyed by 2036, NASA decided to install a radio tracking device to monitor Apophis's orbit.

Scientists around the world have teamed up to find ways to defend Earth's survival.

First, install tracking devices. According to NASA, 2013 is the best time to observe Apophis' orbital track activity. If the observation results prove that this giant block of rock can hit Earth, the spacecraft fitted with a radio tracking device will monitor the rock for 10 years, if possible, asteroids collide with the Left Earth, NASA will find ways to deflect the orbit of the rock to avoid the collision.

Second, use attractive trailers. NASA is preparing to use "attractive trailers" to pull Apophis when it comes close to the Earth in 2029. At that time, it was only necessary to launch an "attractive trailer" spacecraft weighing about 1 ton. The orbit of this asteroid.

To be able to implement this plan, scientists will have to step by step study the feasibility, practice and launch of planets according to planets to collect data for research assistance. This option would avoid nuclear pollution compared to the plan to create an explosion to deflect Apophis's orbit.

Third, launch a spacecraft. Taking advantage of gravity generated from ships and asteroids makes the planet not hit the Earth. The spacecraft will fly at the same speed and direction as Apophis, when ships and asteroids are relatively synchronized, there will be a "machine arm" reaching out to push the planet to change the trajectory. There are also a number of other ideas such as installing large mechanical missiles on asteroids to change the trajectory of flight or installing mirrors reflecting large excuses in the universe, using reflection of sunlight to evaporate asteroids. .

Fourth, build a space protection network. The " Space Defense Project " is being carried out by a number of related institutions and organizations, including a number of NASA-funded organizations that have promised to measure and identify 90% of the sub-regions. The planet has a diameter of 1km or more near the Earth.

In 2003, NASA also proposed a proposal that, from 2028, 2.5 -4.5 billion dollars would be invested to measure and identify 90% of asteroids with a diameter of 140m or more. near Earth.

Tuyet Nhung