How NASA would use 'drastic' solution to knock 'city-destroying' asteroid off course before it hits Earth

NASA’s warning that an asteroid could strike planet Earth in just a few years has caught many people by surprise and could result in the space agency taking drastic steps to avoid catastrophe.

If you didn’t have enough to worry about right now, there is threat of a ‘city destroying’ asteroid crashing down on our heads.

It was discovered in December last year and was named 2024 YR4 - oh, and is about the size of New York's Statue of Liberty.

Thankfully, the percentage chance of it actually coming close enough to disrupt the planet in a few years is still slim, but recent predictions have seen a rise in the percentage.

Scientists said there was a 1.2 percent chance of striking home, which climbed to 2.3 percent, then 2.6 percent and a scary 3.1 percent as of February 18.

We can only hope by the time the year of impact, 2032, the numbers have fallen closer to 0 than gone the other way.

As you can imagine, people have had a lot of questions and scientists across the world have been weighing in.

Science journalist and author Dr Robin George Andrews issued a rather unsettling warning when it came to our preparedness on dealing with an asteroid on path for Earth.

However, he did admit that to properly mount a planetary defence mission, you need at least a decade to plan it and execute it.

Since we don’t have that time, it kinda puts us in a bit of a sticky situation if the statistically unlikely thing should happen.

Explaining what other options we might have, he said that there are some ‘drastic’ solutions we can pull out of our back pocket.

Speaking to Metro, he said: “It’s not like you’re playing pool, and you hit the cue ball into something and it flies off in the other direction.

"Eight years is tight, basically."

So, what are our options?

Well, there's the nuclear option... yep. Nukes in space could become a reality, I’m sure there was a Michael Bay film with this kind of plot.

Andrews continued: “This has never been tested in space because it’s technically illegal, and it would cause tensions.

“But if you put a nuclear weapon next to an asteroid – chased it through space, basically – and detonated it, it would give it an even bigger push."

Hmm, sounds a bit risky. Anything else, Andrews?

“If the choice was to evacuate the area or maybe use a nuke to deflect it… I imagine people are talking about that as a possibility."

Aware of the growing concerns surrounding the asteroid, he took to social media to *sort of* quell fears.

"Worried about asteroid 2024 YR4 and its small-but-non-zero chance of striking Earth in 2032? Don’t panic (just yet).

"I write about planetary defense for a living, and here are some stories about 2024 YR4 that should help you understand the situation.

"For Supercluster, I explained why even a small increase in an asteroid’s size can spike its destructive potential, and briefly sketched out four ways in which Earth can defend itself against 2024 YR4."

Feel better? No, me neither.

We can only hope things don't actually come to this, but if they do... hope you have your bunkers ready.