Asteroid Launcher lets you launch asteroids at Earth and see what kind of destruction they’d cause. You adjust a few settings, pick a spot on the map, and watch the simulation play out. It’s simple, educational, and weirdly satisfying once you start experimenting with different combinations.
The controls are straightforward. You set the asteroid’s diameter, impact velocity, and angle. Then you choose what the asteroid is made of — iron, stone, carbonaceous, or ice. Each material has a different density, which affects how much damage it does. Iron is the heaviest and hits hardest, while ice is the lightest and burns up more easily.
Once you’ve configured your asteroid, you click anywhere on the map to set where it lands. Want to drop one on a random field? Go ahead. Curious what happens if it hits the ocean? Try that too. The location matters because the simulation factors in where exactly the impact occurs.
After you hit launch, the simulator runs through the impact and shows you the results. It’s all simplified for educational purposes, but it gives you a decent sense of scale. You start to realise how even a relatively small asteroid could cause serious damage depending on where it lands and how fast it’s going.
Asteroid Launcher is great for anyone curious about space, physics, or just causing virtual chaos. There’s no pressure, no scoring, and no wrong way to use it. You just mess around, learn a bit, and probably end up launching way more asteroids than you planned.
How To Play Asteroid Launcher
Playing is easy. Start by adjusting the sliders at the top of the page. Set the asteroid diameter in meters, the impact velocity in km/s, and the angle from horizontal. Steeper angles mean more direct hits, while shallow angles create different impact patterns.
Next, pick the asteroid composition from the dropdown. Iron is the densest at 7800 kg/m³, stone sits in the middle at 3000 kg/m³, carbonaceous is lighter at 2000 kg/m³, and ice is the lightest at 1000 kg/m³. Heavier materials generally cause more destruction.
Then click anywhere on the map to choose your impact location. The map uses OpenStreetMap, so you can zoom in and pick a precise spot if you want. Once you’re happy with your setup, hit the “Launch Asteroid” button and watch what happens.
You can reset and try again as many times as you like. Experiment with bigger asteroids, faster speeds, or different materials to see how the results change. It’s all hypothetical and educational, so go wild.