News Planetary Science

Protecting Earth: Gravitational tractor could lure asteroids off course

By Ron Cowen

- More than 2 years ago

When a wayward asteroid is about to smash into Earth, scriptwriters for the movie Armageddon called in Bruce Willis to drill into the rock and nuke it. He succeeds but sacrifices his own life.

TOW LINE. A massive spacecraft could use its gravity to divert an asteroid headed for Earth. D.