The idea that a giant asteroid could hit the Earth and make humanity go the way of the dinosaurs is one which always looms over us, and plenty of movies have enjoyed showing us how screwed we'd all be if one did hit the planet.
Don't worry though, because NASA has something new which will save us in the event that a giant asteroid starts hurtling towards Earth and no, it's not the plan from Armageddon where NASA trains a team of drillers to be astronauts so they can go up and destroy it, because Ben Affleck already poked so many holes in that idea.
See, the big problem with an asteroid heading for Earth is that by the time we spot it coming and are sure it's going to hit us, there's a limited time to figure out how to stop it.
Advert
According to the Daily Mirror, NASA's new ace-in-the-hole when it comes to dealing with asteroids is a new detection system which can more accurately spot giant space rocks which may be coming our way and use upgraded software to determine if any of them are on course to kill us all.
This new software scans loads of asteroids and works out what path they're on without needing scientists to do manual calculations for each one.
That's a lot of work saved because NASA keeps track of about 28,000 asteroids at the moment so getting a snazzy computer to do the work seems like a good idea, and if it turns out not to be then it'd make a good idea for a disaster movie before we all die.
As for plans to deal with asteroids, if any were actually heading our way and on a collision course with Earth, there are a few plans in place which we could give a try.
They all centre around knocking the asteroid off course so it flies harmlessly past us and off into the dark depths of space without breaking it apart.
Setting off a bomb near the asteroid, using rockets to push it off course or hitting it with a giant object have all been mooted as possible solutions to the threat of giant asteroids, though it's probably for the best if we never have to deal with such a disaster.
If you have a story you want to tell, send it to UNILAD via [email protected]
Topics: NASA, Space, World News
Joe Harker