The main questions are whether humanity will be able to launch a counterstrike against the asteroid, and whether it will be enough to fragment the asteroid into harmless pieces. According to scientists, the answer to both questions is yes, given the level of current launch technology, a rocket can be launched within a day if it is at the ready.
To “atomize” the asteroid, the authors propose to use a combination of kinetic and explosive impactors. It is assumed that the rocket will release a cloud of such elements at a fairly high speed in the direction of the celestial body, splitting it into no more than 10-meter fragments. Taking into account the typical density and composition of celestial bodies, the simulations show that this would be enough to effectively destroy a celestial body.
