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What would we do if we knew an asteroid would hit the Earth in 2027? That's what NASA staff will explore during a simulation that will take place next week.
The project will take place in the form of a tabletop exercise organized at the 2019 Global Defense Conference in College Park, Maryland. NASA's asteroid experts have prepared a fictional scenario in which scientists identify an asteroid that seems about to crash They will enter Earth in 2027. They will discuss how to determine which regions face what risks and how to react – all in the hope that if they are in a similar situation, in reality, they will be ready to do it.
"These exercises have really helped us in the global defense community understand what our disaster management colleagues need to know," said Lindley Johnson, NASA's Global Defense Officer. said in a statement. "This exercise will help us develop more effective communications with each other and with our governments."
You will be able to watch the Planetary Defense Conference live from Monday, April 29 at 8:00 am EDT (12 pm GMT), courtesy of NASA. You can watch directly from NASA and its partners here.
Related: How an asteroid 2017 helps NASA defend the Earth
The exercise is part of a larger program designed to meet the specifications of the National Near-Earth Objects Strategy and Action Plan, a reference document created. by the white house.
During the conference, asteroid experts gathered, emergency management staff and others will receive more and more detailed information on the hypothetical risk during the week.
The initial information that the team will work with is: Already available: previewed for the first time on March 26, the asteroid 2019 PDC appears to have an orbit that drops to less than 0.05 astronomical unit (Earth's mean distance to the sun) from the Earth. And when the NASA and European Space Agency systems are working on this orbit, both agencies suggest that the space rock could theoretically cross on Earth on April 29, 2027 – eight years to the day after the start of the conference .
The preparatory documents end with all the hypothetical data collected on April 29, 2019, to the point where our chances are worse. Calculations currently give fictional rock a 1% chance to hit our planet.
And from there, we will have to wait and see what happens next. Space.com will participate in the conference, so stay tuned to find out how humanity is facing this fictional existential threat.
Email Meghan Bartels to [email protected] or follow her @meghanbartels. follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.
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