NASA And FEMA Will Simulate An Impending Asteroid Strike Next Week

Potential strike locations of a fictional asteroid (Photo: NASA/Google Earth)

NASA, FEMA and other national and international agencies are once again gearing up for a fictional asteroid impact preparation scenario. They expect to learn the best strategy to answer the possible strike, from which moment the danger of an asteroid was first detected by astronomers.

The next week is the start of the International Academy of Astronautics Planetary Defense Conference. As part of this conference, NASA's Planet Defense Coordination Office will collaborate with other partners to do "tabletop exercises" so that they can handle the news of a fictional (aerial) asteroid on the course of collision with Earth.

Then, the following is imaginary.

On March 26, 2019, astronomers discover an asteroid in the night sky, which is much less than their telescopes compared to Pluto. They named it 2019 PDC. Initially, it appears that the eccentric orbit of asteroids brings about 18 times the distance of the Moon from the Earth, with the possibility of colliding with Earth on one of the 50,000 in 2027.

Astronomers continue to track the object as it gets closer. They learn that it can be somewhere wide between 100 and 300 meters - the size of a skyscraper. After a month's trekking, the probability of collision with Earth is now one percent - the extent on which international organizations have agreed, they should take action.

Astronomers are capable of making a "risk corridor", where measuring can cause asteroids to hit. Its possible pathways cross the United States, some West Africa and the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

Although only a drill, these are the types of calculations that astronomers should do when an actual asteroid comes closer to the Earth. The fantasy 2019 PDC describes a "potentially dangerous asteroid", the way it orbits the Earth and if it actually kills the planet then there can be a dire effect.

Scientists have recently demonstrated such a simulation, monitoring a nearby asteroid such that it was a real threat. Instead the new simulation will focus less on scientific questions and more on governmental feedback.

This simulation is the sixth near-Earth-object effect practice in which NASA participated. Not only do these exercises help NASA officials to think about what they will do in the event of danger, but they also help them to know what information is. The most important for FEMA and other agencies.

In the NASA press release, Lewittis Lewis of the Response Operations Division for FEMA said, "The emergency manager wants to know when and where the asteroid will be affected and what kind of damage can occur. ''

We will keep an eye on the news from the conference next week and report on any interesting events. You can also follow through a Twitter account run by the European Space Agency @ Messaportions, who will be sharing real-time updates with practice.