NASA believes that the cataclysmic scenario of a doomsday asteroid hitting Earth isn’t just a scene from Hollywood films, but rather a possible reality. That’s right, NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine believes it could be a possibility in our lifetimes. “We have to make sure that people understand that this is not about Hollywood, it’s not about the movies. This is about ultimately protecting the only planet we know, right now, to host life and that is the planet Earth,” said Bridenstine at the sixth International Planetary Defense Conference at the University of Maryland’s campus in College Park. Read more for two additional videos and information.
“This week’s exercise seeks to simulate global response to a catastrophic meteorite. The first step is aiming telescopes at the threat to precisely calculate its speed and trajectory, following rough initial estimates. Then it boils down to two choices: try to deflect the object, or evacuate. If it is less than 165 feet, the international consensus is to evacuate the threatened region. What about bigger objects? The plan, instead, is to launch a device toward the asteroid to divert its trajectory — like a cosmic bumper car,” reports Yahoo News.
