An asteroid striking the Earth would be a catastrophic, potentially world altering event.

Even relatively
small asteroids can cause a lot of destruction. There was an approximately 20-meter asteroid that
exploded in the air near Chelyabinsk, Russia on February 15, 2013. The blast is estimated to have had
the energy equivalent of “500 kilotons of trinitrotoluene (TNT), or roughly 20-30 times greater
than the energy released from the first atomic bombs” (National Science and Technology Council,
2016, p. 4). “Current estimates of the [Near-Earth Object (NEO)] population predict that over 300,000
objects greater than 40 meters in size could be an impact hazard to the Earth” (National Science and
Technology Council, 2016, p. 4). The fact is that we do not have enough resources in place to track all of
these kinds of Near-Earth Objects (NEO)(David, 2017). We may need to start relying on other countries
to help spot these types of dangerous objects. This has already begun to happen with the China Manned
Space (CMS) program announcing that it was tracking a large asteroid called 2009ES that could strike the
Earth (China Manned Space, 2017). Better collaboration with other countries will help the world defend
ourselves from this dangerous threat.

References

China Manned Space. (2017, July 24). China space agency tracking an asteroid that could hit Earth in
2029. Retrieved August 2, 2017, from http://en.cmse.gov.cn/art/2017/4/28/art_74_31715.html

David, L. (2017, January 13). New White House Strategy Preps Earth for Asteroid Hit Scenarios. Retrieved
August 1, 2017, from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/new-white-house-strategy-preps-
earth-for-asteroid-hit-scenarios/

National Science and Technology Council. (2016, December). National Near-Earth Object Preparedness
Strategy. The Office of Science and Technology Policy.