It’s so bonkers that you might assume it’s just the plot of an upcoming Hollywood blockbuster.
But scientists really are toying with the idea of catching an asteroid, in the name of saving the planet from climate change.
The bizarre mission, if ever given the go ahead, would then see a massive umbrella stuck on top of the trapped rock to shield Earth from the sun’s rays.
István Szapudi, an astronomer from the University of Hawaiʻi, argued his far-fetched concept