A Russian military expert has warned that the United States and its Western allies are experimenting with the creation of weapons derived from asteroids and meteors.
According to the Eurasian Times (ET), at the end of June, Anatoly Zaitsev, the Director of the Russian Planetary Defense Center and an honorary member of the Tsiolkovsky Space Academy, gave an interview to TASS. In this interview, Zaitsev warned about the intentions of the U.S. and Western countries to “weaponize” asteroids.
“Programs under the guise of protecting Earth from cosmic threats also present an opportunity to test kinetic weapons, laser weapons, or even ‘weaponized asteroids,'” Zaitsev stated.
Using an asteroid as a “weapon” is feasible.
According to the Russian expert, there are two potential methods for creating weapons from extraterrestrial objects:
- The first option is to conceal information about a dangerous asteroid. However, this option is virtually unfeasible in today’s age, as human technology can only detect 0.1% of the 2,500 asteroids that approach Earth each year.
- The second option is to alter the trajectory of an asteroid, which is much more feasible. Zaitsev noted that in the past 30 years, the U.S. and other countries have conducted 12 asteroid and meteor research missions. These studies include testing methods to control the flight path of asteroids. Most recently, in October 2022, NASA successfully completed a mission to navigate the asteroid Dimorphos using the DART spacecraft.
The Russian expert shared that the country is conducting independent research to develop a system to counter threats from space. These studies not only enhance Russia’s defense capabilities but also promote technological advancement globally.
According to Professor Thomas Bania, an Astronomer at Boston University, using an asteroid as a “weapon” is feasible. The method to achieve this involves landing on an asteroid and installing a navigation device to direct it toward a specific location on Earth.
“In theory, this is feasible, but the equipment to fully adjust an asteroid’s trajectory is still in the prototype stage. Furthermore, using an asteroid as a weapon takes time to deploy, and it is not particularly difficult for the defending side to find ways to counter it,” Bania commented.
Meanwhile, an expert from the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) opposed the creation of weapons from asteroids and meteors. “We are not talking about science fiction here. This is an expensive investment with not much practical use,” the ISRO expert told ET.
