Can We Escape the Fate of the Dinosaurs?

Per a report on National Public Radio, inevitably, a large asteroid or comet on the order of 30 to 50 meters in diameter or much, much bigger will smack into Earth. It has happened before. It will happen again. It is only a question of when. Per evidence in the rock record, past collisions from “near-Earth objects” (NEOs) have had planetary impacts that include mass extinctions. Case in point: the end of the dinosaurs 66 million years ago as a result of an immense NEO impact o the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico.

Papers in the journal Advances in Space Research by Philip Lubin and Alexander “Sasha” Cohen (both of University of California, Santa Barbara) explore two fundamental questions regarding “potentially hazardous objects” (PHOs) and planetary defense.

First, how do we identify NEOs before they become PHOs? Second, once found, what to do about them?

Lubin and Cohen discuss what might be done to divert or destroy PHOs. One option is to de ect them with lasers or rockets to push them out of Earth’s orbit. A second option, dubbed PI (Pulverize It), would intercept them with rockets loaded with explosive penetrator rods to rip into and tear apart the asteroid or comet. Pieces the size of houses will still streak into Earth’s atmosphere and strike land, but with far less devastating consequences than a single object the size of a mountain. While some call these ideas “PI in the sky,” others say we need to step up e orts to defend Earth from NEOs and PHOs that are out there and that, surely, will one day strike.