Matthew Graham is a British television writer, and the co-creator of the BBC/Kudos Film and Television science fiction series Life on Mars, which debuted in 2006 on BBC One and has received international critical acclaim... (wikipedia)
If it's a world-killing asteroid, well then it's all about motivation.
People have not made a production version of this. So something very reliable and light and strong and accurate is needed.
We're aiming to examine the whole idea of these robots.
Drilling systems today mainly use water to move mass up the tube and away from the bit. In space, you need to develop a closed system to do that.
If you have a good amount of warning, like 10 years, then you don't need to send many.
The benefit of the swarm is redundancy. Some could be destroyed, others lost, and the rest can still challenge the asteroid.
They looked for the White Rocks, ... which is a 3,500-foot-high rock face and was a landmark for pioneers. When they saw the rocks, travelers knew they were only a day's journey away from the Gap.
It's like throwing rocks from inside a rowboat. Over time, you end up moving the boat.