Scientists Develop Simulation for Nuclear Asteroid Deflection

The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's model could provide a method for averting asteroid threats, building on insights from NASA's DART mission.

Researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) have developed a modeling tool that simulates the effects of a nuclear explosion on an asteroid, potentially providing a method for deflecting or breaking up a dangerous asteroid.
The model takes into account a wide range of asteroid types and initial conditions, and can track the interaction of radiation with various asteroid materials.
The simulation is computationally demanding and requires a variety of complex physics packages, but the researchers believe it is accurate enough for large-scale studies of asteroid deflection.
The team suggests that, given enough warning time, a nuclear device could be launched at an incoming asteroid, either deflecting it intact or breaking it into small fragments that would miss Earth.
The development of this model follows the success of NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission, which used a kinetic impactor to alter an asteroid's trajectory.