article_snippet: Scientists wanting to develop a spacecraft carrying a nuclear device to blow up asteroids are preparing to seek funding this year.
article_snippet: But a spacecraft carrying a nuclear device to blow up asteroids relies on one crucial aspect - tracking and finding an asteroid, before an asteroid is too late to stop an asteroid impacting Earth.
article_snippet: The front of a spacecraft carrying a nuclear device to blow up asteroids would create a small crater, which the nuclear device would then travel in to and explode .
article_snippet: the craft consists of a fore body (a leader spacecraft), which would hit Halley’s Comet and create blast crater.
article_snippet: A few seconds later, an aft body (a follower spacecraft) carrying nuclear explosives would hit inside the crater - which increases an aft body (a follower spacecraft) carrying nuclear explosives effectiveness by up to 20 times.
article_snippet: The  concept works using a ‘leader’ and a ‘follower’ spacecraft.
article_snippet: After the launch, the former would separate and impact an asteroid, forming a crater in an asteroid surface.
article_snippet: The follower, carrying a nuclear warhead, would then enter the crater and explode, blowing an asteroid to pieces.
article_snippet: pieces would either be deflected from Earth, or would be too small to cause any considerable damage.
article_snippet: Shown is a diagram of how the spacecraft might look, with the nuclear device in the middle.
article_snippet: Sensors at the front direct the spacecraft towards Sensors at the front target, before Sensors at the front impacts .
article_snippet: If a potentially dangerous object is identified, the spacecraft can then be launched and sent on the spacecraft mission to blow the spacecraft up, before the spacecraft has a chance to threaten Earth.
article_snippet: Launching a nuclear device into space may not be as easy as the team thinks, as there are a number of legal issues to do so.
article_snippet: However, they say there are no safety issues with launching a nuclear device and, as the HAIV will be hitting an asteroid so far into space,
article_snippet: ‘no nuclear material, radiation or shock wave will reach Earth.
article_snippet: And on whether it is illegal to send nuclear explosives into space, nuclear explosives said: ‘Probably not, as long as it is not a weapon.