NASA and international partners conducted a fifth asteroid impact exercise to strengthen planetary defense capabilities and assess global response to a hypothetical asteroid threat.
The exercise, organized by NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office, took place from Oct. 26 to Oct. 28, 2021, with more than 100 participants from 18 countries. The exercise simulated a realistic – but fictional – scenario for an asteroid on an impact trajectory with Earth.
The exercise provided a forum for the planetary defense community to test communication and decision-making processes, and to discuss thresholds for taking action. The exercise concluded with a fictitious asteroid impact in Eastern Europe.
“Each time we participate in an exercise of this nature, we learn more about who the key players are in a disaster event, and who needs to know what information, and when,” said Lindley Johnson, NASA’s Planetary Defense Officer. “These exercises ultimately help the planetary defense community communicate with each other and with our governments to ensure we are all coordinated should a potential impact threat be identified in the future.”
The exercise included representatives of several NASA centers, the European Space Agency, the International Asteroid Warning Network, and the U.N. Office for Outer Space Affairs. The exercise was managed by the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s Center for Near Earth Object Studies.
A summary report of the exercise has been released, detailing the exercise parameters, participants, and lessons learned. The report is available on the NASA Planetary Defense Coordination Office website.
NASA and its partners maintain vigilant surveillance of the solar system for asteroids that could pose an impact hazard to Earth. NASA’s Near-Earth Object Observations Program funds and oversees the search, study and monitoring of asteroids and comets, and coordinates U.S. government planning for response to an actual impact threat.
Source: NASA press release
