
National Lab simulates Armageddon-style nuclear asteroid deflection
https://techcrunch.com/2023/12/21/national-lab-simulates-armageddon-style-nuclear-asteroid-deflection/
As if last year’s fabulous Dual Asteroid Redirection Test firing a satellite bullet into an asteroid wasn’t enough, now researchers are doing detailed simulation of the nuclear deflection scenario envisioned in 1998 space disaster film Armageddon.
At Lawrence Livermore National Lab, a team led by Mary Burkey (above) presented a paper that moves the ball forward on what is in reality a fairly active area of research. As they point out, using a satellite as a missile isn’t always practical, and in fact detonating a nuclear explosive device as close as possible to the incoming object is potentially our best move.