If you want to become part of the Near Earth Object observing program YOU can. That program has existed for 30 or more YEARS. It was created bey Carolyn Shoemaker, and others , Eugene Shoemaker's wife..
Developing new missile or bombs is a WASTE OF TIME AND MONEY..
http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/
http://cneos.jpl.nasa.gov/
-
Quadrillian say: We would probably be doomed, as nasa has already stated that it's top priority is searching for space boogiemen. That is where their limited budget is now directed. We just take our chances with asteroids.
Maybe another space agency will have the foresight to get into the asteroid protection game. Yes such a threat could be deflected with a well aimed missile if launched early enough. I don't fancy our chances now though. Other priorities come first, apparently.
Cheers!
-
John D say: There is another factor at work when this question arises. If a "huge" asteroid was approaching and we shot a half dozen nuclear weapons at it, they would go "BANG" and raise lots of dust. And maybe they would deflect it, as DW mentions. In order to "blow up" the asteroid we'd need to burrow down inside it and plant the explosives in the hole. Like that movie I forget the name of. But it's not the movie, it's how explosives work. When they blow rock in a quarry they don't just set off dynamite on the surface, they drill holes and feed the explosives down into them, and THEN set it off.
-
quantumclaustrophobe say: We'd likely need to boost the warhead out of Earth orbit - which means no regular ICBM would be capable. The warhead would need to be attached to a large booster, capable of giving the warhead escape velocity.
-
DW say: All the nuclear missiles we know about are designed to land on Earth. If anyone has a missile capable of targeting an object in space, it's a secret.