Scientists Rally Support For Asteroid-Deflection Mission

Armageddon may have been an entertaining movie to watch. But if an asteroid will really find its way to a collision course to Earth, there definitely would not be a Bruce Willis to save humanity from doom. However, it is not like humans cannot find anyone -- or anything -- to save the human race either.

In a report by Space.com, it is possible for a robotic spacecraft to push a deadly asteroid off a collision course to Earth. Europea Space Agency (ESA) and NASA are interested in investigating such measures with their Asteroid Impact and Deflection Assessment (AIDA) mission, which is set to launch in 2020.

Earth-threatening asteroids are relatively rare, but anything from space colliding toward Earth can be dangerous, as the Chelyabinsk meteor strike reminded us in 2013. The 65-foot wide space rock, which exploded without any warning over the Chelyabinsk, Russia, injured around 1,200 people and damaged thousands of buildings. If it were any bigger, it would have wiped out the entire city.

Despite the rarity of asteroids crashing on Earth, there are a lot of them out there that could pose a threat at any time, although not necessarily during this century. Over 100 scientists noted that there are over 1,700 asteroids that could be potentially hazardous.

They said, "It is crucial to our knowledge and understanding of asteroids to determine whether a kinetic impactor is able to deflect the orbit of such a small body, in case Earth is threatened. This is what AIDA will help us assess."

The New York Times noted that several telescopes are already tracking potentially hazardous asteroids and comets, with at least 659 listed to probably strike the planet. However, none of them are expected to pose a significant threat over the next century, although searches are still being done just in case one is heading our way.

Astrophysicist Brian May said, "The more we learn about asteroid impacts, the clearer it became that the human race has been living on borrowed time."