Exploding Robots Hunt Killer Asteroids

This is a great idea, but it would be even cooler to have a backup fleet of atomic armed robots that could finish off trouble-making asteroids:

Exploding robots may scout hazardous asteroids

“A fleet of exploding probes could prepare the way for warding off hazardous asteroids. Several of the small spherical robots would land on a single asteroid, some exploding while others listen for vibrations that could reveal the object’s inner structure.

NASA has a list of more than 800 asteroids considered to be potentially hazardous because their orbits carry them close to Earth’s. If one of them is found to be on a collision course, knowing its physical properties will be crucial in devising a mission to divert it.”