ASTEROIDS BIGGER THREAT THAN CLIMATE CHAOS?
NASA is developing its first planetary-defense mission to combat potential threats from rogue asteroids
NASA is developing its first planetary-defense mission called the Double Asteroid Redirection Test, or DART. DART will carefully study a near-Earth asteroid and then collide with it, giving scientists the data they need to develop a plan should they ever need to redirect a truly threatening asteroid.
NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine is sounding the alarm that an asteroid strike is not something to be taken lightly and is perhaps Earth's biggest threat.
Speaking at the International Academy of Astronautics' 2019 Planetary Defense Conference in College Park, Md., on Monday, Bridenstine said the space agency and other asteroid scientists need to make sure people understand that the threat is very real and not just the imagination of big-budget blockbuster movie directors.
"We have to make sure that people understand that this is not about Hollywood, it's not about movies," Bridenstine said at the conference, according to Space.com. "This is about ultimately protecting the only planet we know right now to host life, and that is the planet Earth."
"We know for a fact that the dinosaurs did not have a space program. But we do, and we need to use it," Bridenstine added, attempting to portray planetary defense on the same level as a return trip to the Moon. The Trump administration wants to see astronauts return to the Moon by 2024, with or without the help of NASA.
