NASA scientists discussed the nation’s ability to respond to an asteroid threat at a roundtable.
Imagine if scientists discovered a giant asteroid with a 72% chance of hitting Earth within 14 years, a space rock so big it could not only destroy a city, but devastate an entire region.
Hypothetical scenario that asteroid experts, NASA workers, recently discussed at a table designed to improve the nation’s capability to respond to future asteroid threats, according to a report just released by the space agency.
Terik Daly, supervisor of the planetary defense section at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, clarified that there is currently no known asteroid of considerable size that will hit Earth in the next hundred years.
Likewise, he also admitted that they do not know the location of most asteroids large enough to cause regional devastation.
Astronomers estimate that there are approximately 25 thousand near-Earth objects that measure 140 meters or more across, although only about 43% of these have been found to date.
This event in Laurel, Maryland, was one of a series of biennial drills that planetary defense experts have held to practice how they would handle news of a potentially threatening asteroid.
It’s the first since NASA’s DART mission, which showed that ramming a spacecraft into an asteroid could change its trajectory.
During this simulation, scientists estimated that the fictional asteroid was between 60 and 800 meters wide, and discussed three options: wait for more observations, launch a reconnaissance mission, or build a spacecraft to deflect the asteroid.
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Lindley Johnson, NASA planetary defense officer emeritus, noted that even a 60-meter asteroid could have a large impact if it hit near a metropolitan area.
This simulation did not conclude in a dramatic manner, but rather allowed participants to thoroughly discuss the communication of uncertainties and the urgent need to act, also considering funding limitations.
Daly noted that in previous discussions, technical experts assumed that access to financing would not be an issue, but in reality, cost was a significant concern.
The NASA report highlights that many stakeholders wanted as much information as possible about the asteroid, although they were skeptical about obtaining funding without a more definitive understanding of the risk.
Other emergencies before an asteroid for NASA
Additionally, Lewis of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), stressed that emergency managers would have to balance resources between this distant threat and immediate dangers such as tornadoes and hurricanes.
Meanwhile, NASA plans to launch a new asteroid detection telescope in 2027 to identify and evaluate possible future threats.
