We might go full “Armageddon” on asteroid 2024 YR4.
After mulling several different solutions, scientists have devised an unconventional method to stop the “city killer” space rock from hitting the moon — by blowing it up with nukes. Their unorthodox measure of preventing a potential lunar crash landing was detailed recently in a yet-to-be-peer-reviewed study published on the arXiv preprint server.
The team, which includes experts from NASA, wrote that “nuclear robust disruption missions” could be launched in as little as four years from now.
First discovered in December 2024, YR4 sparked worldwide concern that it could strike our planet on December 23, 2032, potentially generating enough power to destroy an entire city. 4
NASA’s Center for Near Earth Objects has since downgrad