NASA has a plan, to make a plan, to save you from killer asteroids

Sample return mission is the latest step in formulating plan to save humanity.

Since the 1990s, the public has been regaled with tales of what would happen if Earth were in the sights of a killer asteroid. In every story, the world is saved by brave astronauts who commit their lives to saving humanity. But is that how the story is likely to go? And is there really a plan to save the planet?

LOS ANGELES, CA (California Network) -- I've got bad news for you. There is no plan to save humanity from a killer asteroid. And even if one were developed, it would not likely involve courageous American astronauts or misfits.

Even worse, scientists are certain such an event will happen, they just don't know when doomsday will come.

If none of this is reassuring, then good, it shouldn't be. While the odds of Earth being struck by a killer asteroid are remarkably slim, the possibility exists. And a single impact is all it takes to kill all or most of the life on Earth.

But it isn't all doom and gloom. Scientists are working to learn more about asteroids and they have some ideas handy, in case of an emergency.

For starters, astronomers are spending a lot of time searching for any objects capable of hitting Earth and causing destruction. Their techniques have become so good that it is believed we have discovered ninety percent of the asteroids which could end life on Earth.

But that still leaves an estimated ten percent of asteroids undiscovered. And there's also the possibility of an asteroid approaching from the direction of the Sun, where our telescopes cannot see. No matter how good we get at detecting these things, we may never be able to see everything that poses a threat to our planet.

By observing the ninety percent we can see, we can plot their orbits and determine if they pose a threat to Earth. So far no object poses an immediate threat. Even the most dangerous one have odds that are merely one to tens of thousands.

Scientists are not allowing complacency. A satellite was launched on September 8 to the asteroid Bennu. The mission, called OSIRIS-REx, is designed to land on the asteroid and return a sample from its surface. Using this sample, scientists will learn more about what asteroids are made of.

Understanding what asteroids are made of is important to deciding how to deflect them. There are several ideas on the table, from solar sails to painting the asteroid white, which would allow the gentle pressure of the Sun to push the rock into a different orbit.

More dramatic proposals involve blasting offending rock with nuclear weapons.

All of these options require time to work. Even the act of blasting the asteroid with a nuke would take at least a year to plan and launch. Other plans, such as painting the asteroid would take as long as 50 years to work.

Fortunately, we know enough that we can project the orbits of asteroids decades into the future.

So, the bad news is that there remains no plan to save the planet, but the good news is, a lot of people are working on the problem.

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