What if an asteroid hit Denver? NASA practiced this week

When it comes to extraterrestrial threats, you should never be too careful, and NASA and FEMA take no chances.

Both agencies, as well as some international groups, have been training on what would happen if an asteroid, comet or other object near the Earth (NEO) rushed to the planet.

In the "real" scenario of several days, the asteroid was hitting the metropolitan area of ​​Denver. The good news is that, in this scenario, they managed to deflect it.

This type of natural disaster is not very likely to occur, but would be catastrophic given the rare chance that this will happen, NASA said in June 2018.

The two US agencies work in partnership with international groups such as NASA's Planetary Defense Coordination Office (PDCO), the Space Situational Awareness Segment of the European Space Agency and the International Alert Network. asteroids (IAWN).

It's an exercise

The exercise took place this week at the annual conference on planetary defense, during which scientists from around the world gathered to discuss "menacing objects" on Earth. Specifically, they will participate in a fictional scenario in which an asteroid will have a trajectory of impact with the Earth.

The NEO (CNEOS) research center at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory has developed this fictional premise.

This is the painting they painted: it's March 26th. Astronomers have discovered a NEO potentially dangerous for the Earth. After following an asteroid that they dubbed PDC 2019 for several months, they determined that he had a 100 chance of having an impact on the Earth in 2027. (Scientists have established these chances like the threshold of action.) What will the emergency management and scientists do? make?

"These exercises have really helped us in the global defense community to understand what our disaster management colleagues need to know," said Lindley Johnson, NASA's global defense officer. "This exercise will help us develop more effective communications with each other and with our governments."

On April 29, 2027, the asteroid had struck the metropolitan area of ​​Denver, which measured between 140 and 220 meters (460 – 720 feet), which would be large enough to cause significant damage in the Denver area.

Of course, everything is wrong, but it's good to know that NASA has managed to hijack the asteroid.

Practice makes perfect

NASA has participated in six similar NEO impact exercises to date. And as NASA continues to search for more accurate impact locations and possible effects, as well as orbital motion patterns, it will be able to reveal more accurate predictions in the event of a real threat.

In December, NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission finally reached the asteroid Bennu. He will spend two years studying Bennu. By studying the near-Earth asteroid, scientists hope to have more information on asteroids likely to affect the Earth, as well as on the formation and advent of planets .

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