Wrap Up That Asteroid!

An Australian PhD student has won top prize in an international contest to figure out how to save us from a tragic asteroid impact.

Mary D'Souza suggests that wrapping an asteroid in mylar film will cause it to receive more solar radiation, therefore altering its course.

Mylar film covering just half of the asteroid would change its surface from dull to reflective.

"What happens then is light from the sun shines on the body [of the asteroid] so more of it is reflected ... and it actually acts to move it away from the sun and the earth."

Space Explorers: Prepare for Killer Asteroids

The Association of Space Explorers (ASE) currently comprises of over 300 individuals from 32 countries who have completed at least one orbit of the Earth in space. They have recently suggested that the United Nations should prepare an international response for when a dangerous object is detected heading towards our planet.

Astronaut Rusty Schweickart says: “Until we have a response in place, we’re as vulnerable as the dinosaurs”.

Discover magazine lists some ways we could survive such a situation...

C'mon Earthlings! Don't have egg on your face when our amazingly advanced civilisation is so apathetic that when one is heading our way, there is no time to formulate a solution.