LIVERMORE (CBS SF) — It sounds like a scene from a Hollywood sci-fi thriller, but researchers from Lawrence Livermore National lab have joined with an Air Force team of technologists to test if a nuclear blast could be used to deflect an earth-threatening asteroid.

Whether it be Bruce Willis and his crew of oil drillers taking on an asteroid as it approaches earth in ‘Armageddon’ or Tia Leoni and her father awaiting a massive tidal wave from an asteroid strike in ‘Deep Impact,’ Hollywood has been fascinated by the threat from space.

Many have asked: Is that a rainbow on Mars? No. Rainbows aren’t possible here. Rainbows are created by light reflected off of round water droplets, but there isn’t enough water here to condense, and it’s too cold for liquid water in the atmosphere. This arc is a lens flare.

NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter has separated from the Perseverance rover on Mars. It’s almost ready to pioneer a new form of space exploration.

On a metal mission to a dead planet.

Information about NASA’s Psyche mission, which will explore a unique metallic asteroid.

Tune in for this live Q&A with Ingenuity experts to get the latest updates on the Mars Helicopter, and next steps for this trailblazing technology demonstration.

Talent:
• MiMi Aung, Mars Helicopter Project Manager.
• Teddy Tzanetos, Ingenuity Deputy Operations Lead.