Bill Nye The Science Guy, in partnership with researchers, has come up with a novel way of combating objects that are on a collision course with our home planet—laser bees! We are not talking about some science fiction scenario where honeybees are sent to space with lasers attached to their torsos. These are tiny high tech satellites that shoot focused sunbeams at oncoming space rocks, hopefully deflecting them away from our planet.
Scientists have been trying for some time now to find successful ways of disrupting the flight of asteroids. Previous methods included nuclear warheads, solar wind sails, and Project NEOShield, which involves reconnaissance observation and tracking of a Near Earth Object, after which a decision on the method of deflection would be made.
The initial tests on the laser bees have determined that it would be more effective that initially thought. The laser beams would vaporize surface rock, creating mini jets that would, theoretically, propel the large space rock away from Earth, thereby preventing a collision.
Scientists at the Universities of Strathclyde and Glasgow, who have been working on the laser bee project for a while now, have set up a lab with experimental equipment to test their theories. They still need to determine whether the lasers can continue with a steady amount of force in an environment littered with asteroid debris.
