Where did the meteors fall on Earth: Great secret!

50 plans to save the Earth from encountering meteors were launched after 3 days of the planet protection conference. Experts argue, should the location of the meteorite be kept secret?

Nuclear explosion, tugboat, drill . push meteorite to another place

Although there are up to 50 options to save the Earth in the event of a meteorite crash, however, according to the media, the following solutions are most noticeable.

Nuclear explosion to deflect meteorites : First of all is the nuclear solution to the NEO problem of Dr. Brent William Barbee, of Emergent Space Technologies, Inc.

According to him, if detonated under suitable conditions, a nuclear weapon could blow up only a thin layer on the asteroid surface. That explosion will affect the asteroid a thrust in the opposite direction to the explosive coordinates, causing NEO's trajectory to deviate and thus unable to hit the Earth.

The advantage of this idea is that people can use existing technologies, but what is concerned is that no technology has been tested that way.

Using tugs to drive other meteors : Meanwhile, Professor Piet Hut, of the Institute of Advanced Studies in Princeton, proposed a less dangerous option, using a "tugboat" ( tugboat) is automatically attached to the asteroid and gradually pushes it out of the orbit that could endanger the Earth. He said: 'Based on projections, experts can use this tugboat for 10 years, or more, before that asteroid that rushes to Earth. "

Scientists have proposed 50 options to save the Earth from the risk of collisions with meteorites.In the photo: Apophis asteroid is moving towards the Earth (Photo: Planetary)

According to Professor Hut, the operation of such a tug will depend on a high-performance electric thrust system called an ion engine. Instead of heating chemicals to produce fuel, these motors propel the spacecraft forward by releasing charged particles in the opposite direction, thereby deviating NEO's orbit. The thrust created is very small but the engine is extremely efficient and can work longer than any conventional rocket engine.

According to him, this type of engine could deflect NEOs up to 800 meters in diameter. Ion engines are also needed in another way, in which experts use a spacecraft called the " gravity tractor". Accordingly, instead of landing on the asteroid, this particular vessel will approach the meteorite at a certain distance, then use light gravity between the ship and NEO to change the direction of NEO's movement.

Reamer on meteorites to push them off the Earth : Another notable option is NASA. The agency - in collaboration with engineering company SpaceWorks, proposed a solution to use some unmanned spacecraft - nicknamed Madmen - to deflect dangerous objects.

According to NASA's plan, when an asteroid is moving in a way that can collide with Earth, some unmanned spacecraft will be launched. After landing on the asteroid surface, these ships were anchored, then proceeded to drill down this object to release into space a quantity of material on the surface of the object, giving rise to low-intensity repulsion. .

Thanks to that thrust, the asteroid's orbit will change over time, avoiding collision with the Earth.

According to NASA, small fragments from asteroids will not endanger the Earth because they will be destroyed when entering the planet's atmosphere.

Where did the meteorite land on Earth: Absolutely classified?

Not only the technical problem, at the 2007 Planetary Conference, social psychologists also plunged into controversy. Should the place where the meteorite be kept secret . will fall to avoid panic among the people?

Al Harrison, a social psychologist at the University of California, Davis, said that the issue of collisions with NEO has led governments to face challenges such as predicting risks early enough to be able to timely deputy; estimate the extent and extent of damage; overcome consequences after the collision; etc .

Psychological experts are concerned, whether to keep information about an imminent collision to prevent the panic that may break out and spread in many parts of the world.

At the same meeting, it was revealed that, in December 2004, scientists determined that if Apophis moved in orbit at the time, it would collide with Earth. directly into a vast area through Central Europe, part of the Middle East, the valley of the Ganges River and even the Philippines.

However, at the time, the above information was not disclosed. According to some scientists, keeping such a secret is a right act!

But Mr. Clark Chapman, planetary scientist at Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado, thinks that keeping such a secret is contrary to the point of view of risk management experts.

He said: 'The assumption that people will immediately become panic is not based on social psychology. If the communication on risk is not done well, people may fall into situations such as unnecessary worry; loss of trust in the authenticity of official notices; misunderstanding about information content; or ignore the government's warnings'.

7 researchers are funded to track meteorites

Despite the controversy surrounding the meteorite crashing on Earth, the 2007 Planetary Conference finally managed to " snatch " one thing.

That is, the Planetary Society has published a list of grantees funded by the Society's Gene Shoemaker in 2007 to promote research on objects near Earth (NEO).

There are only 7 researchers from 5 countries such as: Robert E. Holmes, Jr, Donald P. Pray, and Brian D. Warner (USA); Jean-Claude Pelle (French Polynesia); Quanzhi Ye (China); Eric J. Allen (Canada) and Giovanni Sostero (Italy).

The above-mentioned 7 funded researchers have overcome the rigorous screening from the list of 23 candidates nominated from 11 countries, and considered the opinion of the International Advisory Board - consisting of experts from America, Australia, Czech Republic .

The grants will help researchers further promote the discovery of comets and asteroids capable of colliding with the Earth in the future.

According to the report at the conference, about 70% of all objects with a diameter of more than one kilometer, moving in direction across the Earth's orbit have been discovered. But countries' budgets for programs that monitor the fluctuations of such objects are generally limited. Therefore, sponsorship programs of international organizations, such as the Planetary Society, have contributed to improving the operational funding for scientists.

The name of the sponsorship program was named after astronomer Gene Shoemaker after his death in 1997. At the time of his life, Shoemaker was a famous and highly respected scientist in the field of structure. impact. He is also very supportive of NEO discovery and tracking programs.

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