I knew that they were up to something... Maybe it was a drill type rocket? Wouldn't that make problems worse?
On Sat, Jan 2, 2010 at 12:35 PM, Martin Baxter <[email protected]>wrote: > > > Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight... Uncle Vlad saves the day, and I'm up > for election to the Curia. > > "If all the world's a stage and all the people merely players, who in > bloody hell hired the director?" -- Charles L Grant > > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik > > > > > ------------------------------ > To: [email protected] > From: [email protected] > Date: Sat, 2 Jan 2010 03:25:52 -0800 > Subject: [scifinoir2] Russia Plans to Save Earth From Rogue Asteroid > > > > Russia Plans to Save Earth From Rogue Asteroid; ‘No Nuclear Explosions,’ > Space Chief Promises (Updated) > > - By Nathan Hodge <http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/author/nathanhodge/> > [image: > Email Author] <[email protected]> > - December 30, 2009 | > - 3:34 pm | > - Categories: Bizarro<http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/category/bizarro/> > - > > [image: > 800px-asteroid_21-07-2006]<http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/dangerroom/2009/12/800px-asteroid_21-07-2006.jpg> > Vlad Putin, we’re sorry we ever made fun of > you<http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2008/11/dr-contest-acce/>. > In an interview today with Voice of Russia > radio<http://rus.ruvr.ru/2009/12/30/3352051.html>, > Russia’s space agency chief said discussions would begin soon over a plan to > save the world from a collision with a massive asteroid. > It’s not clear how, exactly, the Russians plan to deflect > Apophis<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/99942_Apophis>, > a chunk of rock the size of two and a half soccer fields that was first > discovered by astronomers in 2004. Anatoly Perminov, the space agency head, > promised that there would be “no nuclear explosions” and that everything > would be done “on the basis of the laws of physics.” > Astronomers initially guessed that Apophis had a reasonably good chance of > smashing into Earth on its first flyby; NASA now > reckons<http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2009/oct/HQ_09-232_Apophis_Update.html>that > the chances of that have gone from slim (one-in-45,000) to almost none > (four-in-a million). But despite the lower NASA estimate, the Russians > aren’t so sure. Perminov said the asteroid “will surely collide with the > Earth in the 2030s.” > Of course, that gives the Russians plenty of time to recruit a telegenic > team of cosmonauts to neutralize the threat from Apophis. May we suggest an > online contest, à la Miss > Atom<http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2009/02/vote-for-russia/> > ? > In fairness, the Russians aren’t the only ones thinking about saving the > Earth from asteroids. Alexis Madrigal of Wired Science has an excellent > write-up<http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/12/saving-earth-from-an-asteroid/>of > some of the options. The first is the > *Armageddon* > <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armageddon_%281998_film%29>approach, knocking > the asteroid off course with a nuclear blast or a > collision. The second, Madrigal writes, is a “shepherding” operation that > would slowly alter the asteroid’s trajectory in space. Either way, the > reality is a bit less made-for-Hollywood: Asteroid-deflection would demand a > lot of international cooperation. > And a lot of money. Perminov’s take? It’s worth the investment. ”People’s > lives are at stake,” he said. “We should pay several hundred million dollars > and build a system that would allow to prevent a collision, rather than sit > and wait for it to happen and kill hundreds of thousands of people.” > > UPDATE: Former U.S. astronaut Rusty > Schweickart<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rusty_Schweickart>writes in to > Danger Room with a few words of praise for Russia’s space > agency. “Perminov is right that the capability to deflect an impact > threatening asteroid needs to be developed and demonstrated, and that that > work needs to be done cooperatively with other space agencies,” Schweickart > e-mails. “And he should be loudly applauded for that.” > But Perminov, Schweickart adds, is incorrect in assuming that Apophis > seriously threatens to strike Earth. From his reply: > > *It has (based on current tracking data) only a 1 in 233,000 chance of > passing through a very narrow region in space (a keyhole) as it passes by > the Earth in 2029 that would cause it to impact 7 years later in 2036. That > is quite a low probability of impact! And… with additional tracking coming > available in 2012-2013 (when it comes back into sight of our telescopes) we > are most likely to find that it, in fact, poses a zero risk of a 2036 > impact. And, on the slim chance that it does still pose an impact risk, we > have plenty of time *after that* to mount an internationally coordinated > deflection campaign… if, and only if, needed.* > > Schweickart is the chairman of the B612 > Foundation<http://www.b612foundation.org/>, > which has advocated its own > approach<http://www.b612foundation.org/papers/NASA-finalrpt.pdf>to asteroid > deflection. For more information on that subject, you can also > read up on the Association of Space Explorers > website<http://www.space-explorers.org/committees/NEO/neo.html> > . > “Prove the capability by doing it,” Schweickart adds. “But *not* on > Apophis!” > > > -- > Celebrating 10 years of bringing diversity to perversity! > Mahogany at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mahogany_pleasures_of_darkness/ > > > ------------------------------ > Your E-mail and More On-the-Go. Get Windows Live Hotmail Free. Sign up > now. <http://clk.atdmt.com/GBL/go/171222985/direct/01/> > > > -- Celebrating 10 years of bringing diversity to perversity! Mahogany at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mahogany_pleasures_of_darkness/
