Asteroid could 'kill millions,' says Russia's space chief

**min0 lee** · 12-30-2009, 08:57 PM

Russian space chief Anatoly Perminov's grim warning over asteroid that could 'kill millions'

The head of Russia's space agency either knows something we don't - or there's something in his Tang.
Anatoly Perminov stoked up some hysteria Wednesday as he sounded the alarm about an asteroid called Apophis that is hurtling in the general direction of Earth.

"Peoples' lives are at stake," Perminov told a Russian news agency.

"We should pay several hundred million dollars and build a system that would ... prevent a collision, rather than sit and wait for it to happen and kill hundreds of thousands of people."

Never mind that NASA has already placed the odds of the asteroid slamming our planet in 2036 at an extremely remote 1-in-250,000.

Perminov said he heard from a scientist that the 850-foot asteroid "will surely collide with the Earth in the 2030s."

While Perminov did not name the scientist, he did come up with a plan for knocking Apophis off its path that seems to have been inspired by Hollywood action films like "Armageddon" and "Deep Impact."

Perminov proposed sending a rocket ship to deflect the asteroid off course. He also intends to enlist the help of NASA, the European Space Agency, and the Chinese too.

"Calculations show that it's possible to create a special purpose spacecraft within the time we have," he said. "The threat of collision can be averted."

Apophis is no secret to astronomers, who first spotted it in 2004. They estimated then the chances of it smashing into Earth would be as high as 1-in-37 when the asteroid flies by in 2029.

Further studies ruled out the likelihood of Apophis hitting the planet that year but suggested there was an extremely small possibility of a hit when the asteroid returns seven years later.

In July 2008, Rep. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) - with the backing of the House - directed NASA to track Apophis and develop its own plan to protect the planet.

NASA has estimated that if Apophis did hit the Earth, it could cause a huge explosion - or churn up a tsunami - capable of killing millions. But it would probably not end civilization as we know it.

Read more: Russian space chief Anatoly Perminov's grim warning over asteroid that could 'kill millions'

**maniclion** · 12-31-2009, 01:03 AM

It's going to ricochet off the moon and land right in that guys backyard....

**GeorgeForemanRules** · 12-31-2009, 02:35 AM

We have way too many people on earth now, killing a few million is a good start but far from what is needed.

**Captn'stabbin** · 12-31-2009, 03:34 AM

pop control is not that bad

**GearsMcGilf** · 12-31-2009, 03:54 AM

Werd! If there's a chance it might hit San Fransisco, no need to panic.

**maniclion** · 12-31-2009, 04:05 AM

Originally Posted by Patrick Bateman

We have way too many people on earth now, killing a few million is a good start but far from what is needed.

We could hope it falls on the Vatican and several million catholics renounce their faith and start using birth control....

**Dale Mabry** · 12-31-2009, 05:21 AM

WHy would we spend millions on preventing a cataclysmic disaster when that money could be put to good use by producing a couple of more seasons of "Keeping with the Kardashians"?

**GeorgeForemanRules** · 12-31-2009, 07:21 AM

Originally Posted by Roids1

Werd! If there's a chance it might hit San Fransisco, no need to panic.

The impact could spread an AIDS cloud and kill us all.....lets hope it dioes not hit San Fran or Africa.

**juggernaut** · 12-31-2009, 07:45 AM

**fufu** · 12-31-2009, 08:58 AM

I'm paraphrasing Carl Sagan -

"If we have the ability to create missile systems that deflect asteroids away from earth, we also have the ability to deflect them towards earth. A true dooms-day machine."

**Gazhole** · 12-31-2009, 09:32 AM

I say we make a giant trampoline suspended thousands of feet in the air. Once we're done catapulting this asteroid back to space, it will be turned into the Gazhole Trampoline Adventure park for the mentally disabled. Retards love trampolines.

Or we glue all the politicians together and watch the massive concentration of hot air shoot them towards the sky at a speed that will exactly match that of the asteroid, stopping it dead and trapping it in orbit as a second moon - ready to be transformed into the Gazhole Anti-Gravity Adventure Park for the mentally disabled. Retards love space.

**juggernaut** · 12-31-2009, 12:40 PM

**maniclion** · 12-31-2009, 01:11 PM

Originally Posted by Gazhole

I say we make a giant trampoline suspended thousands of feet in the air. Once we're done catapulting this asteroid back to space, it will be turned into the Gazhole Trampoline Adventure park for the mentally disabled. Retards love trampolines.

GAY!!!! Trampolines should only be utilized by braless hot girls in skirts and cut off t-shirts and should have an array of web cams 24/7 aimed from every possible angle....there shall also be a midget with a bowl tied to his head full of tabs of X for the girls so that we can get some hot GOGA in the midst of all the other excitement.....

**juggernaut** · 12-31-2009, 04:53 PM

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