ESA planning to remake Armageddon in 2015

Conor108

In the timeless masterpiece Armageddon, by auteur Michael Bay, Bruce Willis and Ben Affleck were sent into space to blow up an asteroid headed straight for Earth. Now, in real life, scientists are going to do the same thing.

Don't worry, no asteroid is currently slated to destroy Earth right now. The closest one, the 99942 Apophis, still only has a 1 in 250,000 shot in touching us. We're safe. We're fine. No need to fire up the Aerosmith. It's just that scientists from the European Space Agency want to see if blowing up an asteroid is possible. They're curious, as I'm sure Michael Bay once was, at finding out what would scientifically happen.

So they're planning the Armageddon IRL mission for 2015. But instead of sending a perfectly misfit team of oil drillers to space, they'll be hurtling a satellite straight into the asteroid to see if it's a potentially Earth-saving move. The mission, officially called Don Quixote, will send a ~1100lb satellite named Hidalgo flying into an asteroid at six miles per second. Another satellite will be in the vicinity to see if the asteroid changes paths. The hope is, of course, that it does move a bit, so we know how to protect ourselves in the future if Armageddon were to really happen.

Let's hope we don't alter the path so much that the asteroid starts heading straight to Earth.

From Gizmodo

ESA Link <-- Far more serious than Gizmodo

God I love that movie...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fB_ZlORvD4c

Turtwig

About time, but this won't work for comets or asteroids of certains compostions so um, yeah badly need more research in this area.

Conor108

The Chinese are also going to try deflect the same asteroid using solar sails.

Arxiv Paper

Great bunch of lads!

MiamTea

Thats mental!! Fair play though it's high time they started making some real plans on what to do in an armageddon sorta situation innit?!

Freaky to think what would become of us if an asteroid was on its way and al we could do was look on helplessly.. then again, what a way to go! Imagine a huge flaming whatsit being the last thing you ever see! Not every day you witness the wiping out if an entire planet!

I agree though, what a movie!!

keane2097

Dreadful movie imo.

ger vallely

I can watch that movie over and over and still love it!!I know it's not hi brow or deep and insightful but hot diggity it is entertaining.

Gearheart

Lol, just had a thought, what if they crash the satilite into the asteroid and sets it on a collision course with earth?? It sounded funny, but completely unlikely.