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A Multi-functional Paintball Cloud for Asteroid Deflection

et al.; Paek, S. W.

deweck@mit.edu2, ranohkim@gmail.com3 In this paper, the so-called “smart cloud” concept for asteroid deflection is further developed by (1) utilizing each particle as a container for paint powder and (2) deploying multiple “paintball” clouds to paint the entire surface of an asteroid. This permits deflecting an asteroid by means of a low-thrust, l…