Chinese Scientists Model 30-Meter-Deep Nuclear Asteroid Defense, Tripling Deflection in Simulations
Updated
Updated · spacedaily.com · Aug 3
Chinese Scientists Model 30-Meter-Deep Nuclear Asteroid Defense, Tripling Deflection in Simulations
3 articles · Updated · spacedaily.com · Aug 3
Summary
A Chinese simulation study found that burying a nuclear device about 30 meters inside an asteroid more than tripled the modeled change in its speed versus a surface blast.
The proposed two-step method sends a metal penetrator first to dig the hole, then a second spacecraft to drop a 3-megaton bomb—enough in the model to break up a roughly 100-meter asteroid.
Researchers argue the split design is more practical than trying to ram an intact bomb into rock at extreme speed, while reserving it for large, late-detected threats that kinetic impacts cannot shift in time.
The work remains theoretical, and scientists still dispute whether fragmentation is safer than deflecting an asteroid intact because debris could leave multiple impact risks.
Legal questions also hang over any real mission: the Outer Space Treaty restricts nuclear weapons in space, leaving a one-off asteroid interception in uncertain territory.