Engineers at University of Strathclyde radically changing asteroid deflection technology

Pioneering engineers at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow are developing an innovative technique based on lasers that could radically change asteroid deflection technology. The research has unearthed the possibility of using a swarm of relatively small satellites flying in formation and cooperatively firing solar-powered lasers onto an asteroid; this would overcome the difficulties associated with current methods that are focused on large unwieldy spacecraft. It is extremely important to keep researching preventative measures. Just over 100 years ago a 2000-kilometer area of vegetation was destroyed when an object believed to be 30-50 meters in diameter exploded in the skies above Tunguska, Siberia. The likelihood of an immediate threat from a similar asteroid strike remains low, but is not impossible.