"What would NASA do if a dinosaur-killing asteroid barrels its way to Earth?"
That is one of the questions actor Adam Driver asked NASA in one of the agency's latest videos to determine what NASA's response would be like.
Driver was also the lead in the film "65," which had his character crash land in prehistoric Earth 65 million years ago - to the time before the Chicxulub asteroid wiped out 75% of life on Earth, including the dinosaurs.
Adam Driver's Asteroid Inquiries
People have been curious about what could happen if an asteroid hits Earth. While some would point to the Tunguska event in 1908, people are more curious about the ones that could pose more than just fascination for humanity worldwide.
For those unaware, the Tunguska event involved an asteroid exploring above central Siberia on June 30, 1908, per the Encyclopedia Britannica. The asteroid's explosion flattened around 500,000 acres and charred 100 square kilometers of pine forest.
Driver, during the video, asked three questions regarding asteroids and NASA:
- What if we found out that an asteroid like [Chicxulub] was going to hit our planet today?
- Would NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft and technology work against such an asteroid?
- Why are scientists bringing a sample of an asteroid back to Earth? What do they hope to learn?
Astronomer Kelly Fast, manager of NASA's Near-Earth Object (NEO) Observations Program, answered Driver's questions in the video.
Read More: DEA Officials Tracked Suspects With an Apple AirTag
Fast's Response To Driver's Questions
Fast explained that NASA would inform planning and give information about the asteroid and where it would impact should the agency find an asteroid on its way to hit Earth. She added that NASA would explain the effect of the asteroid's impact so everyone would have the latest, accurate, and expert information available.
While Fast admits that there are still some undiscovered near-Earth asteroids big enough to do considerable damage should they collide against Earth, NASA is not that concerned about asteroids of sizes similar to or bigger than Chixculub, as it found most of them due to their small numbers, making them easier to spot.
Fast also mentioned that while NASA's DART spacecraft and technology could work, NASA's options for deflecting an asteroid or doing anything about one really depend on its size and composition. She stated that the effectiveness of deflecting an asteroid would also depend on the amount of time before it impacts Earth; the longer the lead time, the more effective deflection would be.
Last but not least, Fast said that Scientists are bringing a sample of the asteroid Bennu back to Earth to learn more about the early solar system and study the origins of organics and water, which are "important for studying life on Earth."
She added that NASA wants to study Bennu because it is largely unchanged since the solar system's formation, with her citing the belief that such asteroids formed when the solar system's planet did 4.5 billion years ago from the same material that made up the planets.
Space.com mentioned that Driver ended the Q7A session with words of gratitude to Fast and for her and her colleagues' efforts in keeping Earth safe from asteroids, with him possibly channeling his character in "65," who may be wishing that experts like Fast existed back then.
Related Article: Does NASA Have Other Ways To Protect Earth From Asteroids?
