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In my opinion, the systems proposed to gently deflect an asteroid without doing too much damage to it are not to be trusted when it comes to the survival of humanity. Waiting for several years for a slow device to reach the asteroid to do something with a laser or a small side impact is suicidal. What if it fails, or runs out of fuel to maneuver or is hit by a micrometeorite or simply stops working for unknown reasons? We need a hammer capable of reaching the asteroid in weeks, not years, and turning it into sand at the maximum possible distance.