If NASA would make its role in planetary defense more well known, people would better grasp the importance of the space program. Still a too-small fraction of expenditures, there are nonetheless many men and women around the world working to protect humanity. Robin George Andrews’ book, How to Kill an Asteroid, takes us behind the scenes into these little-known programs. The Solar System is full of rocks big enough to destroy cities, countries, and entire civilizations.
One thing Andrews doesn’t cover in his book, is the other threat from space: Solar storms and superstorms, some of which could also crumble modern civilization. NASA and NOAA monitor the solar weather closely, but on Earth we have not done enough to harden our infrastructure, as depicted in William R. Forstchen’s novel, 48 Hours. A Coronal Mass Ejection may have nearly ended humanity, as Robert Schoch outlines in Forgotten Civilization. Threats from the sky aren’t just conjecture, we know they have struck Earth in the past.
Next time you wonder why we explore space, wonder why we don’t spend more time and money protecting the planet.
Darrick Dean 