Jenam 2011An asteroid crash is a constant threat to Earth. And now a NASA project has been revealed.
NASA constantly monitors “potentially hazardous” asteroids that may pose a threat to Earth. NASA is also preparing for the worst-case scenario: an asteroid crash. Yes, an asteroid can even crash into Earth. In fact, in a shocking development, an asteroid crashed into the planet just a day ago on March 11! Previously, it was supposed to fly over the Earth at a distance of 2,890 kilometers, but due to the gravitational pull of the Earth, the asteroid was pulled towards our planet and it eventually crashed into it. Fortunately, there were no casualties! The reason being that it was too small, just over a meter, and it crashed in a remote area, Greenland.
However, it certainly draws attention to the fact that asteroids are as dangerous as they are unpredictable and pose a serious threat to Earth. While this asteroid was small, there are larger asteroids in space that can cause global damage and may even pose a threat to the very existence of humanity and all life on Earth.
Now it has been revealed that NASA actually conducted a secret mission to deal with such a threat. Space agency NASA, along with FEMA, United States Space Command, and other federal, state, and local agencies have come together for an interagency planetary defense tabletop exercise to assess the capability of respond effectively to an asteroid impact threat to Earth.
Well, the good news is that NASA itself has confirmed that “there are no anticipated asteroid impact threats to our planet in the foreseeable future”, but as seen yesterday , there may be potential threats turning into reality for the Earth. To prepare for the worst, NASA tested the effectiveness of an action plan related to potential natural disasters to ensure comprehensive preparedness for such a disaster.
How did this NASA plan work?
During the 2-day exercise, the agencies worked together to prepare a detailed what-if scenario in which astronomers discover a simulated asteroid – 2022 TTX. This theoretical asteroid was large enough to cause substantial damage to Earth. The simulation caused it to crash near Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The asteroid was due to crash into Earth six months after its discovery in this simulation exercise.
Due to limitations in current technological capabilities, crucial information about the asteroid is only available when the object is relatively close to Earth. Specific details of the asteroid, such as its size and therefore impact and detailed damage, remained highly uncertain until just days before the simulated asteroid impact.
“FEMA is an ‘all-hazards’ agency and responds to all national disasters and emergencies, so when it became apparent that this simulated asteroid would impact somewhere in the United States, it took that level of inter-agency coordination. said Leviticus “LA” Lewis, FEMA Detailee at the Planetary Defense Coordination Office at NASA Headquarters. “This fourth interagency tabletop asteroid impact exercise provided a forum for federal and local government officials to determine what an imminent asteroid impact threat to the United States would look like, with the real people that would be necessary for such discussions given this type of impact scenario.”
And that means that by the time NASA and other agencies get enough information about the asteroid, the window of opportunity for humanity to act might not be very long.
However, that said, this exercise helped “navigate participants by staying in close coordination between federal and state levels to ensure all stakeholders knew how and where to access information as it unfolded. ‘they were becoming available to planetary defense experts,’ NASA said.
