Article Posted on : - Dec 30, 2009

MOSCOW (BNS): Russian space agency Roscosmos intends to conceive a project to halt the predicted collision of asteroid Apophis with Earth in 2036.

The space agency could take the help of scientists from the US, Europe and China in this regard, Roscosmos chief Anatoly Perminov told Voice of Russia radio on Wednesday.

�A scientist recently told me an interesting thing about the path (of an asteroid) constantly nearing Earth...He has calculated that it will surely collide with Earth in 2036,� Perminov told the radio as reported by RIA Novosti.

Interfax quoted Perminov as saying that one option would be to build a new "space apparatus" designed solely for the purpose of diverting Apophis from a collision course with Earth safely.

"No nuclear explosion would be conducted to destroy the asteroid. �Everything will be done on the basis of laws of physics,� he said.

The Apophis asteroid measures approximately 350 meters in diameter and RIA Novosti news agency said that if it were to hit Earth when it passes nearby in 2036 it would create a new desert the size of France.

NASA, in October this year, had downgraded the chances of the celestial body hitting Earth from 1-in-45,000 to 1-in-250,000 after recalculating its path.