[Emilio]

Emilio asked the Naked Scientists:

Hello again (and thanks again for a great show). I am writing to you from Ecuador. I think I've heard you guys say that meteorites
found here in Earth originated in Mars (Martian meteorites, that is) have great scientific value.

My question is... wouldn't it be feasible to send a pair of nuclear bombs to Mars and detonate them thus creating a scenario which generates a good possibility of (more abundant than usual) Martian debris falling to Earth?

More meteorites mean more chances to study them. Or the nuclear explosions could cause more harm than good?

Regards,
 
Emilio Romero

What do you think?

[Chemistry4me]

Why would ya wanna do that? A bomb just so we can study rocks??? [][][]

[LeeE]

Just a couple of potential problems Emilio;  first of all, you'd have to send them up on rockets, which are still a bit unreliable and tend to malfunction rather more often than one would like, then secondly, there's no way of guaranteeing that any (now radioactive) rocks lofted from the surface of Mars would ever reach the Earth and not get burnt up on entry.

[lyner]

The whole idea strikes me as the ultimate in cosmological yobbish behaviour.

[Flyberius]

Would you miss it?

[Madidus_Scientia]

Miss what?

[Chemistry4me]

Miss Mars?

[Chemistry4me]

Nah, not really.