NASA Seeing if ‘Space Shotgun’ Could Save Earth

If movies like Deep Impact and its superior, Armageddon, have taught us anything, it is to be wary of massive pieces of space rock that threaten our very way of life. 

Luckily, people much brighter than the masses are paid to figure out ways to thwart extraterrestrial blows. Some of those people are at NASA and are investigating a proposal for a line of defense that could break apart asteroids days or even hours before a potential impact. 

The defense method is called Pi - Terminal Defense for Humanity. It was proposed by Philip Lubin, an engineer at the University of California Santa Barbara, and was selected for Phase One of the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts Program.