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Jan 24, 2023

Dust particles from an asteroid could save Earth from doomsday

Posted by in categories: asteroid/comet impacts, existential risks, particle physics

Destroying an Earth-killing asteroid is not always possible, here’s what we can do instead.

Do you know what size asteroid would be enough to end all life on Earth? According to the experts at NASA, a space rock only 96 km wide can do the job.

In 2005, for the first time, a Japanese space capsule Hayabusa brought the dust particles of an asteroid named Itokawa to Earth.


© Kevin M. Gill.

So, to keep our planet safe, it is critical to investigate various types of space rocks and devise counter-strategies in the event any of these are on a collision course with Earth. However, to study space rocks or asteroids, scientists need samples.

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