The scenario, which sees an asteroid hit Earth on July 12, 2038 with a 72% chance, is just the latest test by NASA to see how humanity would cope with an impact from a giant space rock.
NASA hosted its fifth Planetary Defense Interagency Tabletop Exercise, hosting more than 100 participants, including the United Nations, the UK Space Agency (UKSA), and the European Space Agency (ESA).
Faced with the challenge of a 60-200 meter wide asteroid that could hit somewhere between North America and Saudi Arabia in 14 years, these organizations had to work together to determine what could either save us or hinder that process and set us up for a major impact.
Yes, scientists and space leaders seem concerned that, faced with the possibility of extinction, politicians won’t be able to come together and work together as a team to prevent it.
Last September, NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission successfully returned a sample from an asteroid named Bennu to Earth.
Currently, the chances of it hitting Earth on Tuesday, September 24, 2182 are about 1 in 2,700.
The chances of it happening between now and 2,300 years are even lower, about 1 in 1,750.
The most expensive mission is estimated to cost just over $1 billion, but with global GDP rapidly approaching $1 trillion, it seems like a worthwhile investment, even though NASA’s scenario predicted a more likely outcome of 1,000 to 100,000 deaths rather than a mass extinction.
The lack of disaster management plans for survivors in the event of an asteroid impact is a major concern, suggesting that not only will politicians be unable to prevent an asteroid impact, but that we may be left to fend for ourselves after the impact.
NASA has already demonstrated the ability to deflect asteroids if necessary, though it has inadvertently created dozens of small asteroids that could eventually collide with Mars.
The Double Asteroid Reorientation Test (DART) mission has only been tested once so far, but it is hoped that it can be repeated as needed, provided sufficient funding is provided by policymakers.
Additionally, NASA highlighted the new Near-Earth Object (NEO) Survey mission, a powerful infrared telescope designed to detect hazardous space rocks, scheduled to launch in 2028.