Can a man explode a comet from geospace?

Question

lol

your probably saying WTF!?

But it's a serious question. I'm making a "Graphic novel" that pertains to this.

Say a man was in geospace, or the death zone. He has oxygen and is in a space suit. And a comet is coming right at him. Can a man potentially live in geospace. With a space suit or not?

Answer 1

Certainly, people can go for short "walks" in space suits outside the International Space Station (ISS), which is currently in Low Earth orbit (LEO).  These "walks" are limited by the air that is carried.  Current suits can carry six or so hours of air.

Astronauts have been on board the ISS for stays as long as about a year.  The station can generate oxygen and recycle air that has been used.

Could an astronaut blow up a comet?  It would depend on the size of the comet, the relative speed it's moving, what kind of a bomb that was handy, what sort of delivery system, like a rocket, was available, and how much time there was.  What about the comet pieces after the explosion.  Unlike the movie Armageddon, where the object was split in half so that each half would miss the Earth, this strategy doesn't actually work, at least not without quite a bit more lead time.

Better than blowing it up is a deflection so that is misses whatever it was heading for.  Deflection strategies include heating up one side with a big mirror in space.  The mirror doesn't have to be very good, and can be assembled from tin foil on a light frame.  Some dramatic space walking for your astronaut.  The idea is that the Sun's light is concentrated on one part of the comet, which boils away, acting like a jet, and changing the comet's course.

Answer 2

Yes the man could live as long as his oxygen last..

Answer 3

There are more variables here that would need answers.  

Geospace is not quite outside our atmosphere and therefor the man "living" in Geospace would have to be in a aircraft/spacecraft that is travelling faster than orbital velocity in order for him to remain in Geospace without plummeting back to Earth.  At those altitudes the man would certainly require oxygen as the atmosphere is so thin that he would not be able to breathe.  

Is the man trapped in Geospace travelling at exactly the right velocity to prevent him from falling to earth? Is the man travelling at a velocity lower than escape velocity so he doesn't head out into outer space?

His position and velocity and the position and velocity of the comet would have to line up perfectly for him to hit or get hit by the comet.  How are you proposing that he explodes the comet? Does he have a weapon?  

Sounds like a very interesting graphic novel, but in reality I don't think this would be realistic.