End of the world: NASA is preparing for asteroid impact against the Earth – Popular

06 November, 2016 21:00 pm.

NASA and FEMA (Federal Agency for Emergency Management) analyzed a scenario of catastrophic consequences during simulation exercises organised. They asked the following: What would we do if we discover a large asteroid on course to impact the Earth?

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This drill was designed to strengthen the collaboration between the two agencies. “it is Not a question of if it will happen, but when are we going to cope with a situation of this type,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator of the Directory of Scientific Missions of NASA in Washington. “But unlike any other time in our history, we now have the ability to respond to a threat of impact through continuous observations, predictions, planning, response and mitigation,” she said.

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The exercise provides a forum for the planetary science community to show how it would be to collect, analyse and share data on an asteroid with chance of hitting the planet. Managers of emergency discussed how the use of such data as the preparation, response, and alert to the population.

BETTER PREPARED

“it Is critical to exercise this type of low-probability, but the disaster scenarios of serious consequences,” said FEMA administrator Craig Fugate. “When you work with our plans, emergency response now, we will be better prepared in the event that we have to respond to this event“.

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Among the participants of the exercise were representatives of NASA, FEMA, the Department of National Laboratories of Energy, the U.S. Air Force, and the Office of Emergency Services California Governor.

IN FOUR YEARS

The exercise consisted of simulate a possible impact of four years from now -an asteroid dummy that has supposedly discovered this fall with a probability of 2 percent of the impact with the Earth on September 20, 2020.

Is estimated to measuring between 300 and 800 feet (100 meters and 250 meters) and ability to make an impact in any location along a long strip of land, including a narrow band of area that is crossed throughout the united States.

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IMPACT IN CALIFORNIA

In the fictitious scenario, the observers continued tracking of the asteroid during three months using the observations of the telescope based on earth, and the impact probability rose to 65 percent. Then, the following observations had to wait until four months later, due to the position of the asteroid relative to the sun.

once that observations could resume in may 2017, the impact probability increased to 100 percent. For November of 2017, we simulated the expected impact that would occur somewhere in a narrow band around the southern California or near the coast in the Pacific Ocean.

the Missions of deviation to move the asteroid from its collision course were simulated in earlier exercises.

Now it was assumed that the time of impact was too short for a mission of this type. This poses a major challenge for the future to the emergency managers in front of a mass evacuation of the metropolitan area of los Angeles.

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The scientists of JPL, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories, and The Aerospace Corporation presented predicted models of footprint impact, the estimations of displacement of the population, the information about the infrastructure that would be affected, as well as other data that could really be known at various points throughout the scenario of the exercise.

“The high degree of initial uncertainty along with the impact of relatively long time of warning made this unique scenario and it is especially difficult for emergency managers,” said the head of Service for Coordination of the National Response FEMA Leviticus A. Lewis. “It is very different from the preparation for an event with a timeline much shorter, such as a hurricane.”EA

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will CONTINUE to EXERCISES

NASA offered expert input to FEMA on the risk of impact of asteroids through the Office for the Coordination of the planetary defense . the NASA and FEMA will continue performing tasks of impact of asteroids and the intention to broaden the participation in future exercises to include other representatives of the emergency management agencies state and local and the private sector.