Space shooting. To protect the land from asteroids will help an analogue of ancient weapons

For example, scientists from a non -profit organization Aerospace Corporation, the United States, propose to reject dangerous astroids flying to Earth, with the help of cosmic catapults, Gizmodo writes. In focus. Technology has appeared its Telegram channel. Subscribe not to miss the latest and most intrusive news from the world of science! If you imagined the usual catapult you used during wars in the ancient world and even in the Middle Ages, then you are a little mistake.

The new device for changing the trajectory of asteroids flight is completely different. Nevertheless, this peculiar catapult, according to scientists, can be a very effective tool for planetary protection. According to Naum Melamed from Aerospace Corporation, it was inspired by the system of launching satellites into space from Spinlaunch to create a space catapult. As the focus has already wrote, this installation is a circle with a protruding pipe for launch.

Inside is a powerful centrifuge that accelerates a special satellite rocket to 8,000 km/h. Last October, a successful launch of the satellite into space took place. The authors of the new project want to create a similar catapult but smaller. Their plan is that such a device needs to be delivered to an asteroid, and then this system will extract small pieces of local rock and run them into space.

These pieces of rock will fly at a speed of 1-2 km/s, and depending on the size of the asteroid, its flight trajectory can be changed for several weeks or several months. This can avoid the potential collision of space stone with the ground. Aerospace Corporation plans to create a prototype of space catapult and in two years to test on Earth. Then this catapult is planned to be delivered to a month to check its work in space.

To date, there are no known asteroids that pose a true threat to the Earth and in NASA believe that by the beginning of the 22nd century, no asteroid should fall on the planet. But scientists with NASA are constantly watching the Earth asteroids, especially large space stones, the trajectory of which can be changed unexpectedly. By the way, according to Melamed, a new device for protection against asteroids can also be used to extract valuable resources on these stones.

Catapult's collected resources will also be able to throw into space, and they will catch special spacecraft. As the focus wrote, the asteroid flies to the ground and scientists have told when to start worrying for real. The NASA specialist named the main signs that the asteroid threat will be real, not a swollen "horror story". We remind that last month the asteroid flew past the ground at a speed of 3 thousand km/h and its flight was filmed by scientists.