One day, rogue asteroids may crash into Earth and cause significant destruction. Getting rid of the cosmic object before it gets near is one measure to prevent the event and its potential massive dangers.
To fulfill the job, the European Commission tasked Russian scientists represented by Roscosmos' Central Machine Building Research Institute to develop a plan for nuking rogue asteroids.
For Russian experts, the most effective strategy to prevent an asteroid from crashing to the Earth is a nuclear explosion.
Using nuclear weapons have long been banned under the Outer Space Treaty of 1967. However, Russian scientists believe that there is an exception if Earth is in an impending danger.
"If the asteroid threat becomes a matter of serious damage or even the very existence of life on earth, that ban would naturally be lifted," said the institute.
The objective is to change the course of the asteroid's path away from Earth instead of directly attacking it. When a nuclear explosion occurs near an asteroid, it would burn up some parts of the cosmic object, creating a jet-thrust effect. Such impact would initiate a significant change in the orbit of the asteroid.
To minimize the danger, it is best to discharge the missile while the asteroid is still far from the planet.
With such a plan in place, the Russian scientists said it would create a specialized software to monitor asteroids coming near the Earth.
The Russian project would also entail four observation satellites. Two of the satellites would track the planet's orbit around the sun and the other two would monitor stationarily around the planet's orbit.
The EU program called NEOShield consists of different projects that involve various nations. The aim of the project is to work on different strategies to prevent the collision of Near Earth Objects.
"Final results are expected in May 2015, but the project has already triggered the interest of the international press," the European Commission says.
The Central Scientific Research Institute of Machine Building or TsNIImash is one of the leading developers of space technology machines in Russia. The firm is said to be part of the testing and experimenting the processes of nearly all Russian space launchers and vehicles.
