(NewsNation) – NASA’s pre-emptive doomsday approach has reached new heights with a test simulating a hypothetical asteroid scheduled to hit Earth in 2038, according to a report released this week.
O simulation was the fifth part of the Planetary Defense Interagency Tabletop Exercise, in which NASA, the US government and international representatives attempted to plan for an asteroid that had a 72% chance of hitting Earth within 14 years.
“The uncertainties in these initial exercise conditions allowed participants to consider a particularly challenging set of circumstances,” Lindley Johnson, planetary defense officer emeritus at NASA Headquarters in Washington, said in a statement. Press release.
“A large asteroid impact is potentially the only natural disaster that humanity has the technology to predict years in advance and take steps to prevent.”
Within the exercise, asteroid sizes ranged between 60 and 800 meters, with the most likely result being between 100 and 320 meters.
Several strategies have been floated to combat the threat, with senior figures favoring a U.S. government-led approach with international assistance and a potential flyby rendezvous effort rather than waiting until November for telescope sightings.
“These results will help shape future exercises and studies to ensure NASA and other government agencies continue to improve preparedness for planetary defense,” Johnson said.
The exercise aimed to increase preparedness for the potential threat of an asteroid and was a vehicle for discussion among agencies and potential international partners.
It was the first planetary defense event held since the Double Asteroid Redirect Test (DART) Missionin which a spacecraft changed the orbit of an asteroid in 2022.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
