Astrologer to sue Nasa

2005-05-06 22:55

Moscow - A Russian court ruled that an astrologer could proceed with a lawsuit against the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration for plans to bombard a comet whose destruction would "disrupt the natural balance of the universe", said Itar-Tass on Friday.

Star-reader Marina Bai's case was thrown out of a lower court because Russia had no jurisdiction over Nasa.

But, the ruling was overturned when her lawyer, Alexandra Molokhova, was able to show that the agency's office in the US embassy in Moscow did fall under Russian jurisdiction.

Bai seeks a ruling that would restrict Nasa in its plans to annihilate a section of the Tempel 1 comet in a project that has been dubbed "Deep Impact", as well as punitive damages of 8.7 billion roubles (about R1.8bn).

"My client believes the Nasa project infringes on her spiritual and life values as well as the natural life of the cosmos and would disrupt the natural balance of forces in the universe," Molokhova was quoted as saying.

The lawyer said Tempel 1 had sentimental value to Bai because her grandparents met when her grandfather pointed the comet out to his future wife.

Expected to create a huge crater

In a $279m project, Nasa in January launched the Deep Impact spacecraft which will travel to the comet and release an "impactor" - a 370kg self-guided mass - on US Independence Day (July 4) which is expected to create a crater that could be as large as a football stadium.

Scientists believe the exposed material from the resulting crater will yield clues to the formation of the solar system and provide important information on altering the course of comets or asteroids on a collision course with Earth.

Effects of the collision will be visible from Earth with an amateur telescope, according to the mission's website.

- AFP