In the United States held exercises in case of a collision of an asteroid with the Earth – TASS

WASHINGTON, November 6. /Offset. TASS Dmitry Kirsanov/. The us government has convened an interagency tabletop exercises in case of asteroid collision with the Earth, which could potentially accompanied by large-scale destructive consequences. I reported about it press service of National Agency on Aeronautics and space research (NASA).

the Organizers of this training was made by NASA and the Federal Agency of the USA on emergency situations (FEMA), said the press service. It also attended the Pentagon, the American air force, national laboratory, USA – large state scientific and technological centers, within the structure of the Ministry of energy and dealing with, among other things, the creation of nuclear weapons, a number of other organizations and the state of California. It is on its premises, in the town of El Segundo, October 25, the exercise took place.

According to the scenario, counted the steps that would need to be taken in connection with the collision on 20 September 2020 with our planet asteroid the size of presumably 100 m to 250 m. the Probability of falling to the Ground supposedly originally considered equal to 2%. However, in may 2017, the legend of the exercises, the experts will understand that a collision of this heavenly body to our planet is inevitable. By November 2017, the experts, as suggested by the scenario, determine that the asteroid will collapse either in southern California or near the coast in the Pacific ocean.

the U.S. authorities worked out a plan of measures necessary for the implementation of mass evacuation of the population in Los Angeles and its surroundings, that is, about 13 million people. This option was chosen because of a perceived lack of time for implementation of a mission to destroy the asteroid or change its trajectory to avoid collision with the Ground. To exercise, not only has studied models that predict the effects of the cataclysm described, but the plans of the refutation of all kinds of rumors and untrue information, which, apparently, in this scenario can become a serious factor of influence on public opinion.

the New head of the science Directorate, NASA Thomas Zurbuchen being an American of Swiss origin, has warned that the threat of a disaster of the kind discussed in the exercises, is quite real and raises the question, “when are we going to take action in such a situation, and not about how will we do this”. In turn, the head of FEMA Craig Fugate expressed confidence that the authorities “it is critical to work out scenarios in the event of such catastrophes, the probability of which is small, and the consequences of which are significant.” According to NASA, the current exercises have become the third of this kind with the participation of the US space Agency and FEMA.