The Associated Press reports Russia's space agency chief said Wednesday a spacecraft may be dispatched to knock a large asteroid off course and reduce the chances of earth impact, even though U.S. scientists say such a scenario is unlikely.
Anatoly Perminov told Golos Rossii radio the space agency would hold a meeting soon to assess a mission to Apophis. He said his agency might eventually invite NASA, the European Space Agency, the Chinese space agency and others to join the project.
When the 270-meter (885-foot) asteroid was first discovered in 2004, astronomers estimated its chances of smashing into Earth in its first flyby, in 2029, at 1-in-37.
Further studies have ruled out the possibility of an impact in 2029, when the asteroid is expected to come no closer than 18,300 miles (29,450 kilometers) from Earth's surface, but they indicated a small possibility of a hit on subsequent encounters.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/eu_russia_asteroid_encounter - VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV
If the Russians pull this off, there will be a lot of vodka drinking and toasts made to the former Soviet Union.
When I spent some time with Pastor Jack Hayford in Van Nuys, California and he heard how many countries I had traveled to... Pastor Jack chuckled and said, "Let me know when you reach beyond this world."
It looks like Russia and NASA are already doing a fine job at that. Although as a Floridian I would enjoy leaving this world and going into outerspace sometime on the Space Shuttle (which launches just an hour's drive from my home in Orlando).
http://www.PaulFDavis.com - worldwide speaker, author and adventure capitalist
info@PaulFDavis.com - invite Paul to speak in your city!
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