Planetary Resources linked this Youtube video of Neil de Grasse Tyson answering a few penetrating questions about why “bumping” asteroids out of the way is so hard. The thing is, the questions were asked by a 9-year old named Jacob. Jacob obviously is worried about asteroids hitting the Earth. Props to Mr. Tyson for actually trying to explain to Jacob why the problem isn’t so easy to resolve. The video is nearly seven minutes long, and Jacob unintentionally speaks some gold, so it might be worth your while.
It’s a fun video, but I do hope the kid’s sense of humor matures as quickly as his understanding of asteroid hunting and mining. I’ve dealt plenty with “those guys” in my career. The problem is, “those guys” won’t even understand what I’m talking about, but everyone who has ever worked around them will. Ah, well…
The Mad Spaceball 