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NASA: The Best Thing You Can Do Before a Meteor Strike Is ‘Pray’

Mar. 20, 2013 10:32am
NASA Administrator: If We Find a Meteor Zooming Towards Earth, Pray

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden speaks at a House Science, Space, and Technology Committee hearing on ‘Threats from Space: A Review of US Government Efforts to Track and Mitigate Asteroids and Meteors’ on Capitol Hill in Washington on March 19, 2013. (Photo: AFP/Getty Images)

NASA administrator Charles Bolden Jr. told a House Committee hearing Tuesday that if they discovered a meteor zooming toward an American city, the only thing people can really do is “pray.”

Of course, there are qualifiers to the statement.  The United States already has the capability to detect the larger asteroids that could devastate entire nations, but for the smaller ones — and Russia’s recent scrape with the extraterrestrial was considered “small” — we’re essentially sitting ducks.

Donald Yeomans, Manager of NASA’s Near-Earth Object Program Office, further warned CBS News: “In Russia, if that asteroid had held intact for a few more seconds, it would have hit the ground with the force of 20 Hiroshima bombs.”

He argued that investing in a space-based infrared telescope at the cost of only a “few” hundred million dollars is well worth it if it means avoiding such events in the future.

NASA Administrator: If We Find a Meteor Zooming Towards Earth, Pray

In this frame grab made from a video done with a dashboard camera a meteor streaks through the sky over Chelyabinsk, about 1500 kilometers (930 miles) east of Moscow, Friday, Feb. 15, 2013. (Photo: AP)

Today, we’d be lucky to have about three weeks notice before such an impact.  Gen. William Shelton, commander of the U.S. Air Force Space Command, reportedly admitted Tuesday that the United States was completely unaware the Russian meteor was coming.

“The odds of a near-Earth object strike causing massive casualties and destruction of infrastructure are very small,” senior adviser to President Obama on science and technology issues John Holdren reassured Congress Tuesday. “But the potential consequences of such an event are so large that it makes sense to take the risk seriously.”

As far as the larger, civilization-affecting blasts, there’s no need to give up hope just yet:

“An object larger than one kilometer, which would cause a global problem — we’ve found 95 percent of them already and none of them represent a problem in the next 100 years,” said Yeomans. A hit from such an asteroid would be the equivalent of thousands of nuclear bombs going off, he said. “Civilization would survive probably, but not in the form that we know it.”

If such an object is discovered to be approaching Earth, the leading contender to address the problem would be to crash a spacecraft into it in order to slow it down and alter its course. “If you find it early enough, and you smack it early enough, you’ve got enough time,” said Yeomans… Still, for a large object, you’d need billions of dollars and, Yeomans estimates, at least a 10-year head start.  [Emphasis added]

CBS News’ Norah O’Donnell expressed skepticism at the seemingly dire requests for hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars.

“The asteroids will never be safe now that lobbyists have their sights on them,” she said cynically.

–

Related:

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Comments (44)

1 2
  • crusaderx9
    Posted on March 20, 2013 at 3:27pm

    Just another obama messenger boy…

    Report this comment

    crusaderx9  
  • swkimbl
    Posted on March 20, 2013 at 3:23pm

    You can also get to a secure place and put your head between your legs and kiss your **** goodby.

    Report this comment

    swkimbl  
  • rosegrower
    Posted on March 20, 2013 at 3:18pm

    Here’s the 64,000 question – how many tax dollars went into reaching this conclusion???? And we can’t cut government spending because it will bring about cataclysms of the highest order?????

    Report this comment

    rosegrower  
  • 762x51
    Posted on March 20, 2013 at 3:14pm

    Praying might be the “best” thing you can do but it is followed closely by kissing your azz goodbye.

    Report this comment

    762x51  
  • HAWKWIND
    Posted on March 20, 2013 at 3:12pm

    Here’s a little known fact: the planet Jupiter is kind of the savior of our inner solar system. Its massive gravitational pull absorbs the majority of meteors that enter our system. Pretty cool. Thank You God.

    Report this comment

    HAWKWIND  
  • antitheism
    Posted on March 20, 2013 at 2:00pm

    So, in other words, nothing.

    Report this comment

    antitheism  
  • Secret Squirrel
    Posted on March 20, 2013 at 1:53pm

    I was expecting NASA to say, “We could guarantee we’d avoid a meteor strike,
    but it’s gonna cost $10 trillion. But it’s for the children.
    If we could save just one life, it would be worth it.”

    Congress will simply pass a law making meteors illegal. That’ll work.

    Report this comment

    Secret Squirrel  
  • P4cooler
    Posted on March 20, 2013 at 1:39pm

    I have no respect for NASA since they postponed a scuttle launch in order to avoid Muslim Ramadan.n NASA always hides “juicy” photos of various Mars rovers (I am well informed by Richard Hoagland) http://enterprisemission.com/ NASA now stands for “Never A Straight Answer”.

    Report this comment

    P4cooler  
  • media-bias-steals-elections
    Posted on March 20, 2013 at 1:12pm

    Oh please, its not the job of Nasa to take care of stuff like this? Don’t you know they are having robot wars on Mars? Here’s a joke for Lenno, you know NASA is hard up for money, when they have to put a show on tv called Big Bang, and can’t afford to pay for actors, and use real engineers?

    Please don’t bother us with a pitiful waste of intellect, like finding small meteors, we have important things to do, like operate remote control toys on Mars? Marvin the Martian is watching folks, stop laughing? Bugs Bunny has this under control?

    Report this comment

    media-bias-steals-elections  
  • IFUDONTSTANDUPWHOWILL
    Posted on March 20, 2013 at 12:49pm

    anyone want to start a pool on how long it will be before there is another article telling us that he has recanted his prayer statement?

    Report this comment

    IFUDONTSTANDUPWHOWILL  
  • AquamanSucks
    Posted on March 20, 2013 at 12:38pm

    I keep praying but he keeps on posting

    Report this comment

    AquamanSucks  
  • firearm
    Posted on March 20, 2013 at 12:38pm

    Please do wait to pray until after it hits.

    Report this comment

    firearm  
  • denkat56
    Posted on March 20, 2013 at 12:08pm

    nor me I’m calling Bruce Willis, he can save us. Then I’m gonna pray, and then put up an umbrella from acme enterprises, hey it mostly works for Wiley coyote.

    Report this comment

    denkat56  
    • glassaudioguy
      Posted on March 20, 2013 at 8:19pm

      Yeah- right then he gets flattened and driven halfway to the earth’s core by an enormous falling anvil.

      Report this comment

      glassaudioguy  
  • AmericanStrega
    Posted on March 20, 2013 at 12:04pm

    And now this just in at our 5pm Alert Action News Center: NASA says there’s a large asteroid on a collision course with Earth. Approximate time of impact is in 5 hours. NASA officials are telling us to start praying now, because in 5 hours our asses will be dust. Video and comments at 11.

    Report this comment

    AmericanStrega  
  • KickinBack
    Posted on March 20, 2013 at 11:12am

    When you wish upon a falling star, your dreams can come true. Unless it’s really a meteor hurtling to the Earth which will destroy all life. Then you’re pretty much hosed no matter what you wish for. Unless it’s death by meteor.

    Report this comment

    KickinBack  
  • DougHuffman
    Posted on March 20, 2013 at 11:07am

    Like so many other natural events, meteor strikes, epidemics and extinctions follow a power law. Read N. N. Taleb. MOLON LABE Lord of Flies aspects – Bolden

    Report this comment

    DougHuffman  
  • Daveed
    Posted on March 20, 2013 at 10:53am

    I am not concern by meteors as much as I am concern by Nasa officials stating to the American people with a straight face that it is because of the sequester? Poppycock.

    Report this comment

    Daveed  
    • edcoil
      Posted on March 20, 2013 at 10:54am

      Pray? I see the new focus of NASA being a muslim outreach program is still in full swing.

      Report this comment

      edcoil  
    • CatB
      Posted on March 20, 2013 at 1:48pm

      With all the Muslim outreach Obama charged NASA to do … I don’t want NASA praying for me.

      Report this comment

      CatB  
  • Gonzo
    Posted on March 20, 2013 at 10:53am

    Let’s all worry about meteor strikes and which side of the bathroom transgenders use while the whole country goes to hell in a hand basket.

    Report this comment

    Gonzo  
  • Daveed
    Posted on March 20, 2013 at 10:51am

    Praying is always a good thing. Americans are praying for our misguided dysfunctional gov’t.

    Report this comment

    Daveed  
  • STREBOR
    Posted on March 20, 2013 at 10:50am

    I’m reminded of the duck and cover drills we held in school during the Cold War. The movie “Atomic Cafe” also comes to mind.
    We sat in the hallways facing the wall with our heads tucked between our legs desperatly trying to kiss our butts good bye..

    Report this comment

    STREBOR  
    • SadWingsRaging
      Posted on March 20, 2013 at 2:42pm

      Yup, remember doing those, seems they went into overdrive during the 80′s when the gipper was in office for some reason. :-)

      Report this comment

      SadWingsRaging  
  • Blivit
    Posted on March 20, 2013 at 10:47am

    STOP!!! this is a government official telling us to PRAY???? where is that separation of church and state now? i guess it doesn’t apply in the event of natural disasters??

    Report this comment

    Blivit  
  • SREGN
    Posted on March 20, 2013 at 10:47am

    Amen.

    Report this comment

    SREGN  
  • USPATRIOT101
    Posted on March 20, 2013 at 10:44am

    oh whatever…..

    Report this comment

    USPATRIOT101  
  • pragmaticpatriot
    Posted on March 20, 2013 at 10:43am

    If Nora O’Donnell of CBS is skeptical then we should be convincened

    Report this comment

    pragmaticpatriot  
  • FlagWavingPatriot
    Posted on March 20, 2013 at 10:40am

    The best thing you can ALWAYS do is pray.

    Report this comment

    FlagWavingPatriot  
    • DIR
      Posted on March 20, 2013 at 9:48pm

      FLAGWAVINGPATRIOT: “The best thing you can ALWAYS do is pray.!”

      Unless you are an atheist, then crapping in ones pants is, I guess, a practical alternative whereas a killer meteor strike or some other disaster is concerned.

      Report this comment

      DIR  
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