Asteroid Crisis: Star Challengers Book 3 by Kevin J. Anderson, Rebecca Moesta, June Scobee Rodgers Read Free Book Online Page B

the mission.” Dr. Kloor didn’t look convinced, and even Ansari, their closest friend among the personnel aboard the station, seemed disappointed by JJ’s evasiveness.
    “We do know there are three asteroids heading straight toward Earth,” Tony said. “And everybody here is obviously scrambling to do something. Can you get us up to speed?”
    King added, “How are you going to make sure those rocks don’t hit the planet?”
    “We’ve already sent three automated probes to study the composition, size, and shape of the incoming asteroids,” Ansari said. “We adapted some old designs for comet flyby probes and used the blueprints to build new probes. Those probes have gathered vital information. In order to deflect the asteroid orbits, we need to know the parameters: the geology of the rocks, the density, the general structure.”
    Pi looked up from the comm station. “We had to know how solid the asteroids are. We’re planning to use massive explosions to shift their orbits, and we had to determine whether the asteroids would be deflected or just broken apart.”
    “Wouldn’t that help, either way?” JJ asked. “If one of the asteroids broke in two, that would decrease the threat.”
    “Maybe not, Cadet,” Ansari said. “Two five-kilometer-diameter asteroids slamming into Earth would be nearly as bad as the impact of one ten-kilometer-diameter asteroid.”
    “I see your point,” JJ said.
    “It’s important to know whether the asteroids are primarily composed of rock and metal, or ice and frozen gas,” Ansari said.
    “Ice and gas? That sounds more like a comet than an asteroid,” Tony said, a little confused.
    “Asteroids and comets are similar—leftovers from the cloud of gas and dust that collapsed to form our solar system 4.5 billion years ago.”
    “But I thought there were obvious differences between asteroids and comets,” Song-Ye said.
    “The line of distinction can be fuzzy. Most asteroids orbit in the major belt between Mars and Jupiter. They’re generally composed of solid rock, with some pockets of ice. Comets, though, have more elongated orbits—they head farther out into the solar system and then swoop in close to the sun. That’s when they become visible, as the gases evaporate.”
    “That’s what makes a comet’s tail,” King said, “the fresh gases streaming out away from the Sun.”
    “Asteroids or comets, anything that big smashing into Earth is a disaster,” Dr. Kloor said. “Our probes showed that these asteroids are all between three and five kilometers in diameter—large enough to cause serious damage if they impact Earth. On the positive side, they’re small enough that we have the capability to affect their movement.”
    Ansari nodded. “Hence the mission we’re planning. A sufficiently large explosion should deflect them, change their orbits. That still won’t take care of the Kylarn, but we’ll have breathing room in the meantime.”
    The gruff, bearish Russian captain pulled himself the rest of the way into the command module and grinned to see the Star Challengers. JJ brightened. “Captain Bronsky!”
    “By sufficiently large explosions, the Stationmaster means nuclear warheads,”’ he said. “Most nations on Earth dismantled their stockpiles of those old weapons, but some were hidden here and there—and a good thing too. Otherwise we wouldn’t have any way of moving the asteroids.”
    Over the station intercom, a clipped British voice said, “Stationmaster, we are prepared to detach Hab Module 2. This is the third and final module for independent launch on the asteroid missions.”
    “Is that Major Fox?” King asked. JJ remembered the stiff and formal British officer who had helped them at Moonbase Magellan.
    “It’s Colonel Fox,” Song-Ye reminded them, then glanced at Ansari. “Unless he’s been promoted again? Is that why he’s up here?”
    “Colonel Fox was never satisfied with a desk job on Earth. While we were prepping the