NASA's emails reveal that the space agency was not aware of the asteroid until the last moment: "This one trapped us"

NASA's internal emails show that the space agency was unaware of the 2019 OK asteroid, known as the "city killer," until the last moment on July 24th.

The researchers detected the gigantic space rock the size of a football field 24 hours before moving over the Earth at a distance of only 48,000 miles and at a speed of 55,000 miles to the coast. ;hour.

"As there may be media coverage tomorrow, I warn you that in about 30 minutes, an asteroid measuring 57 to 130 meters will pass on Earth at only 0.19 lunar distance (~ 48,000 miles)," wrote Lindley Johnson, NASA Global Defense Officer. in an email of July 24, the addition of the asteroid "was spotted about 24 hours ago."

THE CHIEF OF NASA REMINDS THAT THE ASTEROID THREAT IS TRUE: "THIS IS THE PROTECTION OF THE ONLY PLANET WE KNOW TO RECEIVE LIFE"

The internal messages were obtained by BuzzFeed News via a request from the Freedom of Information Act and have also been verified by Fox News.

Alan Duffy, professor of astronomy at Swinburne University, described the 2019 asteroid OK as a "city killer" and an asteroid that "would have hit with more than 30 times the energy of the planet." Atomic explosion of Hiroshima at the Sydney Morning Herald.

NASA officials, including Johnson, were surprised by the terminology used by Duffy and another Australian astronomer quoted by the press, saying "that it might be helpful to ask them to think before they speak". Johnson also said that Australia "basically does" nothing to support Planetary Defense, "according to internal emails.

The e-mails initially obtained by Buzzfeed also indicate that NASA needs better detection of asteroids, mentioning in particular that the ATLAS telescope and the PAN-STARRS observatory "must detect slower objects".

Following press reports on the close encounter with 2019 OK, the CNEOS released on Aug. 6 a statement that the damage caused by the stone from the space could have been annoying.

"If 2019 OK had penetrated the earth 's terrestrial atmosphere and disturbed it, the shockwave could have created a localized devastation in an area of ​​about 50 km," wrote CNEOS. "If the asteroid had penetrated over the ocean, the nearby sailboats would have had a bad day, but the sea would have absorbed the vast majority of the impact and it is unlikely that 39, a tsunami would have been created. "

In a statement to Fox News, Allard Beutel, NASA's public affairs officer, said NASA and other US agencies were leading international efforts to deal with a possible impact caused by an object close to the Earth. (NEO).

In 2018, the White House released the National Strategy and Action Plan for the Preparation of Near-Earth Objects, which identify the key steps that US agencies must take to better prepare the United States – and the world – to the detection of a possible impact, "Beutel wrote in an email to Fox News.

He added that NASA had been responsible for tracking all near-Earth objects 140 meters and over, noting that they were 35% complete with geo-controlled objects of this size and "about 96% complete" for those of one kilometer and over. "Strategic investments in our space programs will benefit all humankind, as we continue to list all near-Earth NEOs that pose a potential risk.One of these investments is the test focused on planetary defense, the test Double Asteroid Redirection (DART).), whose launch is scheduled for 2021, to demonstrate the possibility of using a kinetic impact to alter the movement of an asteroid in space. "

NASA GAMEPLANS MASSIVE STRIKE ASTEROID

The space agency will launch its first DART mission in 2022. In April, NASA awarded a $ 69 million contract to SpaceX, the space exploration company run by Elon Musk, to help carry out the DART project. .

The next time an asteroid of this magnitude will come close to Earth, it will be ten years from now. The asteroid 99942 Apophis (named after an Egyptian god of chaos) will travel less than 30,000 km from Earth on April 13, 2029, Fox News has already announced.

According to NASA, asteroids falling within a range of 0.05 astronomical units and measuring more than 460 feet in diameter are known as "potentially dangerous" NEOs, according to NASA. They are followed by NASA's Near Earth Studies Center (CNEOS). According to a report published in 2018 by Planetary.org, there would be more than 18,000 Named Executive Officers.

Last month, Musk said on a podcast that Apophis was not a concern, but a "big boulder" would eventually hit the Earth and, for now, we can not do anything about it.

NASA has been preparing for years for the global defense of asteroid impacts. A recent study showed that Americans preferred a space program focused on the potential impacts of asteroids on the return of humans to the Moon or Mars.

BILL ASTEROID ARRIVES – WE DO NOT KNOW WHEN (BE LOANS), BILL NYE DIT

In 2016, NASA formalized its previous program for the detection and monitoring of near-Earth objects and integrated it into its scientific mission direction. Last June, NASA unveiled a 20-page plan outlining the steps the US should take to better prepare for NEOs, such as asteroids and comets, located within 30 million kilometers of the planet.

In addition to improving the capabilities for the detection, monitoring and characterization of near-Earth objects and improving modeling predictions, the plan also aims to develop technologies to divert NEOs, increase international cooperation and enhance establish new procedures and protocols for NEO impact action.

In April, NASA's administrator, Jim Bridenstine, said that an asteroid attack was not something to be taken lightly and that it was perhaps to be the biggest threat of the Earth.

"We have to make sure that people understand that it is neither Hollywood nor film," Bridenstine said at the 2019 Global Academy's Global Defense Conference of astronautics in College Park, Maryland, according to Space.com. "It is ultimately about protecting the only planet we currently know to harbor life, and that is the planet Earth."

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Brie Stimson of Fox News contributed to this report.