Chinese scientists from the Beijing Institute of Spacecraft Systems Design have proposed using nuclear weapons and heavy launch vehicles to protect Earth from asteroids. This was reported by the South China Morning Post.

The researchers said that if a large asteroid approaches Earth, the only way to prevent a collision may be to use nuclear weapons. Zhang He, deputy chief designer of China's Chang'e-3 automatic interplanetary station, noted that the risk of a collision with a large asteroid has increased significantly, and astronomers have so far identified about 30,000 such objects, which may only be the "tip of the iceberg."

The team of scientists considered various ways to change the trajectory of asteroids, including kinetic impact, the use of lasers, and the installation of rocket or plasma engines on the surface of dangerous celestial bodies. However, they concluded that kinetic impact would only be effective for asteroids up to 140 meters in diameter. If a celestial body with a diameter of up to 350 meters is detected, this method can only be useful if the collision becomes known about half a century before it.

If there is less than a week left before the collision with a large asteroid, scientists have concluded that launching nuclear warheads will be the only possible way to protect humanity.

Recall that in 2022, scientists tested a method of protecting the Earth from an asteroid using an aircraft: on September 26, the NASA DART probe crashed into the Dimorph asteroid to find out whether it would be possible to protect the Earth from potentially dangerous space objects by striking the probe. As a result of the collision, the asteroid's flight path did change, but it is unknown whether this method will be effective against larger celestial bodies. The diameter of Dimorph is about 160 meters.