NASA expert urges humanity to prepare for asteroid impacts

NASA asteroid expert Humberto Campins said individuals have "nothing to worry about" from an asteroid impact, but humanity "must prepare" because such events "will happen again." Speaking at the 'The Many Pathways to Spaces' congress in Oviedo, Spain, Campins stressed that large impacts like the one that killed the dinosaurs are "inevitable" without developing deflection technologies Source: El Mundo. He noted that no known asteroids currently threaten Earth and the probability of an impact in a person's lifetime is "very low," yet planetary defense is essential for long-term survival Source: Clarin.

Planetary defense

NASA convinced the US government of the threat "three or four decades" ago and now coordinates a global network of telescopes using the Torino scale. International agencies conduct simulations "every three years" to build institutional memory Source: Infobae. The DART mission in 2022 demonstrated that a kinetic impact can alter an asteroid's orbit Source: El Caribe.

Apophis flyby

In April 2029, the 375-meter asteroid Apophis will pass within 32,000 kilometers of Earth, closer than many satellites, and will be visible without a telescope Source: Clarin. Campins emphasized there is "no risk of deviation" during this encounter, though future orbit changes are possible Source: El Mundo. NASA's OSIRIS-APEX and ESA's RAMSES missions will study how Earth's gravity deforms Apophis Source: Infobae.

Space debris risk

A study by Italian researchers suggests a small but real chance that space debris in geostationary orbit could collide with Apophis, complicating scientific observations. Researcher Alessandro Rossi said he expected a "null experiment" but was surprised by possible close approaches Source: Clarin.