Could we deflect an incoming asteroid by bombarding it with paintballs?

What would be a way of life to parry asteroid Apophis if it bugger off a small too close for comfort in 2029 or 2036 ? Pew - pew it with 5 scads of whitened paintball . Not only would the multiple mini impacts bump the asteroid off trend , but the white paint would embrace the surface and reflect more sunlight , and over time , the bouncing of photon off its surface could create enough power to press the asteroid off its course .

There have beenlots of ideas put forth for potential asteroid deviation , such as using a soberness tractor to root for it off course , strike it with a projectile or spacecraft to move it , or bind a solar sheet to alter its line , to name a few .

Paek say his paintball strategy builds on a solution submitted by last year ’s competition achiever , who offer deflecting an asteroid with a cloud of solid pellets . Paek came up with a similar proposal , adding paint to the pellets to take advantage of solar radiation press — the force exerted on objects by the Sunday ’s photons .

In his proposal , Paek used the asteroid Apophis as a theoretic test type . This 27 - gigaton rock’n’roll may amount close to Earth in 2029 , and then again in 2036 . Paek determined that five tons of paint would be required to continue the massive asteroid , which has a diameter of 450 meters ( 1,480 feet ) . He used the asteroid ’s full point of rotation to determine the timing of pellets , launching a first round to cover the front of the asteroid , and firing a second rung once the asteroid ’s backside is exposed . As the pellet hit the asteroid ’s surface , they would bust asunder , splattering the space rock with a fine , five - micron - layer of paint .

But this is not a spry - resolution method , as Paek estimates that it would take up to 20 years for the cumulative effect of solar radiotherapy pressure to successfully push the asteroid off its Earthbound trajectory . So if astronomers influence Apophis is a threat in 2029 , we ’re already too later . Additionally , the paintball method acting is not an selection if estimates change for Asteroid 2012 DA14 , which is predicted to pass very close to Earth on February 15 , 2013 , about 35,000 kilometers ( 21,000 miles ) away .

Plus , using traditional paintball , or traditional rockets for launching them , may not be ideal . Paek say the crimson parody may rupture the payload . Instead , he envisions paintballs may be made in distance , in ports such as the International Space Station , where a spacecraft could then pick up a couple of rounds of pellets to deliver to the asteroid .

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But other pith could also be used instead of paint , such as aerosols that , when fired at an asteroid , “ impart melodic phrase drag on the incoming asteroid to slow it down , ” Paek pronounce . “ Or you could just paint the asteroid so you may track it more easily with scope on Earth . So there are other use for this method . ”

Scientists have said the key to deflecting a dangerous asteroid is to find them early so that a plan can be developed . William Ailor , an asteroid specialist at Aerospace Corporation in California said that the potential for an asteroid collision is a farseeing - full term challenge for scientists and engineers .

“ These types of analyses are really seasonable because this is a trouble we ’ll have basically forever , ” Ailor says . “ It ’s nice that we ’re getting young citizenry remember about it in detail , and I really applaud that . ”

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