Because of this low gravity, we B612'ers talk about 'docking with' a near Earth object and not 'landing on' one. |
It would have devastating consequences if it hit. There is the serious question of whether, if it is headed toward impact, we will know enough to make a timely decision. |
It's a completely controlled deflection method. |
That (will be) an impossible task, I'll tell you right now. |
The danger is being overly optimistic about how long it takes to do that. |
Things don't 'fall' normally around small cosmic bodies. The local gravity is so low that any lateral velocity has an exaggerated effect. The behavior of objects around asteroids is counter-intuitive, if not absolutely chaotic. |
We'll go many years with basically no additional information on where it's headed. |