Armageddon Destroyer: The Kinetic Impactor

In the movie Armageddon, a huge asteroid is heading toward Earth which would end all life as we know it. NASA's only solution is to send the best oil drilling team in the world to drill into the huge rock and blow it up from the inside. While this may sound like a far fetched science fiction scenario, NASA has been looking into solutions if this same situation actually happened.

NASA's solution to an asteroid collision with Earth is known as the Kinetic Impactor Mission. As the name implies, it intends to use the object's momentum against it. The plan would be to send an object at the asteroid with enough speed to deflect it out away from Earth. The impactor would hit the asteroid off center to try and guide the object past Earth.

According to the National Academy of Sciences, the Kinetic Impactor Mission would require a significant amount of time as a warning before the asteroid hit to prepare the impactor. If the asteroid is a smaller asteroid, it is estimated that we would need 1-2 years notice to design, build, and launch the impactor with enough time to guide the asteroid away. For larger asteroids though, it is estimated that it could require a 20 year warning to be able to safely protect Earth.