There are scientists working to develop technology to intercept asteroids. However, to take out an asteroid, a missile really needs to impact (hit) it directly. Because asteroids are really piles of porous rubble and contain numerous pieces (not just one), it would be nearly impossible to take out with a single direct hit. And, even given a direct hit, the force may only nudge the asteroid a tiny bit, which would require significant advance knowledge that it was on a collusion course. *My two cents? Seems like a long shot to me.
Greg’s answer: Very complicated. If a missile were to hit an asteroid, just because it breaks it up doesn't mean the pieces will change their orbit (the direction at which they travel)- they still come at us. Also, a missile hit might not break it up well. Asteroids are big! How big of a missile can we send?
At this time, scenarios computer simulations for deflecting (changing the direction) an asteroid involves:
- Knowing about an asteroid about it 5 or more years before we know it may hit Earth
- Sending something up (an rocket motor, whatever) to just change the asteroid’s path away from Earth.
- If an asteroid was on a path toward Earth, all it takes really is a mild nudge (move it), but how do we do that? *More information and research is needed.
