The idea of nuking an oncoming asteroid isn’t exactly new. I wrote about it toward the end of 2025, and scientists have been kicking the idea around for decades. Believe it or not, while blowing up an asteroid sounds like the most blunt, obvious solution imaginable, there’s actually a surprising amount of nuance in how you do it.
According to a paper published in Space: Science & Technology, Chinese researchers think they’ve found a more effective way that isn’t so explode-y.
The authors of the study argue that detonating a nuclear weapon on an asteroid’s surface may not be the best option in every scenario. Instead, the researchers from the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology propose a “pre-evacuation detonation strategy, wherein they first cut a deep hole into the asteroid and then detonate a warhead inside it.
This would transfer more of the detonation’s energy into the rock itself, making it more likely to shatter into smaller asteroids or to shove larger ones off course.
Blowing Up an Asteroid May Be More Complicated Than Just Firing a Nuke at It
They compared their idea of blowing it up from the inside with the simpler, blunter traditional idea of just shooting a new get, using simulations of a hypothetical asteroid threatening to destroy the Earth with different warning times ranging from 1 year to 20 years. The model said that the deep burial method performs significantly better when there’s enough time to prepare, potentially destroying asteroids around 330 feet (100 meters) across, and is also good for nudging objects approaching 0.6 miles well enough that they miss Earth.
But if they’re running short on time, there’s no need to fuss with a space drill that embeds itself in the heart of an asteroid. Just shoot a nuke at it, and hope for the best.
Luckily, we’ll have to worry about any of that right now, as the space agency on Earth has yet to detect such a potentially menacing asteroid heading toward us. We’ve got bigger fish to fry down here. Should one creep up on us, it’s nice to know there are some people out there giving this a little extra thought, just in case.
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