Asteroid-Busting Rockets Launching From Earth

A recent study published on arXiv delves into the possibility of using the Pulverize It (PI) method to counteract an asteroid threat. This involves using rockets to break the asteroid into small pieces, preventing it from causing major damage. While blowing up asteroids is a familiar strategy for those who have seen a lot of sci-fi movies, it’s still a theoretical method in reality. 

The theory goes like this: assuming we have a rocket on standby, we could launch a defense rocket within a day after being tipped off that an asteroid is approaching Earth. Then, using a combination of kinetic and explosive impactors released from the rocket at high speed, we’d strike the asteroid and shatter it into fragments no larger than 10 meters across, effectively destroying the asteroid and its risk to our planet.