NASA to use nuclear weapons to defend Earth from asteroids?

NASA is looking into the possibility of destroying hazardous asteroids using nuclear weapons to defend our planet.

The US space agency has sealed a deal with the National Nuclear Security Administration in order to learn how to better deflect comets and asteroids that might endanger cities and the planet as a whole.

The agencies have surveyed the cosmic debris, designed rocket interceptors and run supercomputer simulations to see if a nuclear blast could nudge a large asteroid off course, the 'New York Times' reported.

According to officials and experts, the new inter-agency agreement would deepen the levels of expert cooperation and governmental planning, ultimately increasing the chances of a successful deflection.

However, scientists who favour non-nuclear means of asteroid interception believe the atomic method would become suitable only if a large threat materialised too quickly for counter-measures that were less powerful.

Officials have declined to say whether any specific arms in the US nuclear arsenal have been set aside for countering extraterrestrial strikes, the report said. Scientists estimate that millions of smaller rocks whirl on paths close to the planet, most of them untracked, and warrant much closer scrutiny lest they batter cities and cripple regions.