July 27, 2002	Saturday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 16,1423

MOSCOW, July 26: A Russian scientist said on Friday that a massive asteroid said to be heading for Earth could be destroyed with the help of a powerful laser.

He was speaking after space experts warned this week that an asteroid, spotted from several different countries, could hit Earth in 2019, destroying life as we know it.

Boris Kartogin, general director and designer at rocket producer Energomash, was quoted by Itar-Tass news agency as saying the asteroid could be thwarted, using a powerful laser installation based in space.

“Defences for the Earth can be designed,” Kartogin told a news conference.

Lasers in space were hugely controversial during US President Ronald Reagan’s term in office in the 1980s. His scheme to shoot down Soviet nuclear missiles was dubbed “Star Wars” after the cult science fiction film series.—Reuters