CORRECTION OF THE ORBIT OF THE POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS ASTEROID APOPHIS

The asteroid Apophis can be dangerous on account of falling on the Earth's surface in the future. To prevent such a fall, some correction of the asteroid's orbit can be used through a bombardment of the asteroid's surface. Some model calculations are performed to determine optimal dates for such bombardment and to determine the direction and value of an additional impulse. The most suitable time for the orbit correction may be January, 2013. For the asteroids, an additional heliocentric velocity of 5 mm/s will be sufficient. The necessary correction can be carried out through a fall of a body with a mass of about 5 t on the asteroid's surface or through an explosion with a power of no less than 100 t of TNT.