In 2023, NASA released the National Preparedness Strategy and Action Plan for Near-Earth Objects, Their Hazards, and Planetary Defense. This is true for near-Earth objects (NEOs), which are asteroids that pose a potential danger to the planet.
As stated, the doomsday scenario is unlikely, “space rocks will not pose a danger in the next 100 years, but scientists believe there are thousands of asteroids hiding in the solar system.” And they accept the possibility that the planet will sooner or later fall into the path of a dangerous cosmic body.
There may be dozens of “planet-killer” asteroids more than a mile (1.7 km) across lurking in space that could cause global extinction, according to NASA research.
As part of the proposed disaster plan, NASA is experimenting with kinetic impactors, high-speed spacecraft that would hit asteroids and knock them off course. It’s not entirely clear how this method would work, but the first attempt took place in September 2022, when the DART mission changed the orbit of an asteroid for the first time in the history of science.
But that’s not all. Scientists are also considering the possibility of shooting down asteroids with nuclear missiles and are investigating the potential consequences of such interaction with cosmic bodies.
Source: Ferra
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