NASA studies creative plan to divert asteroid en route to Earth
Bennu can hit the planet in September 2135
S and is inside asteroids offering danger to our planet, you've certainly heard of 'Bennu'. In the event of a collision with Earth, scheduled for September 2135, the body would be able to release an energy three times greater than that of all the nuclear bombs that have exploded in human history.
Recently, the idea of bombarding potentially dangerous asteroids is controversial. That's why NASA is exploring a creative alternative - since diverting such a threat could be so much easier.
"Just painting half the surface of a different color would change the thermal properties and their orbit," says Michael Moreau, NASA's OSIRIS-REx flight dynamics system manager, in an interview with Gizmodo.
According to the report, this plan would involve sending a spacecraft to literally change the color of part of the asteroid. It is noteworthy that the researchers guarantee that the Bennu is not large enough to do away with humanity, but could cause gigantic damage. After all, the size of the rock is comparable to the Empire State Building.