Russia May Save Earth
According to the head of the Russian Space Agency, Russia is considering sending a spacecraft to knock the Apophis Asteroid off its path and prevent a possible collision with Earth.
The 270-meter (885-foot) asteroid was first discovered in December 2004 and caused a brief period of concern because of its a small probability that it would hit Earth in 2029. Additional observations provided improved predictions that eliminated the possibility of an impact on Earth or the Moon. However, a possibility remains that during the 2029 close encounter with Earth, Apophis will pass through a gravitational keyhole, a precise region in space no more than about 600 meters across, that would set up a future impact on April 13, 2036.
In October, NASA lowered the odds that Apophis could hit Earth in 2036 from a 1-in-45,000 as earlier thought to a 1-in-250,000 chance after researchers recalculated the asteroid’s path. It said another close encounter in 2068 will involve a 1-in-330,000 chance of impact.
Anatoly Perminov, the director of the Russian Federal Space Agency, said the space agency will hold a meeting soon to assess a mission to Apophis, telling Golos Rossii radio that it would invite NASA, the European Space Agency, the Chinese space agency and others to join the project once it is finalized.
Perminov also said that he heard from a scientist that Apophis is getting closer and may hit the planet. “I don’t remember exactly, but it seems to me it could hit the Earth by 2032.”
“People’s lives are at stake. We should pay several hundred million dollars and build a system that would allow to prevent a collision, rather than sit and wait for it to happen and kill hundreds of thousands of people,” Perminov said.
On that cheery note, lets hope that Russia finds the money it needs to save our butts.
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