Unsung Heroes: The Guardians of Earth Against Asteroid Threats
Imagine you're responsible for alerting the world about an incoming asteroid that might collide with Earth. This is the reality for one woman with a legal background and experience in the satellite industry, who serves in a crucial role within a global organization. Her job? To be ready for the unlikely scenario of a large asteroid heading towards Earth - a situation she refers to with a sense of humor as "Armageddon."
When the unthinkable happens, her duty is to inform the leader of the global organization, who then spreads the word to 193 countries. This might sound like a scene from a sci-fi movie, but she found herself in this exact situation not too long ago. A colleague pulled her aside at work with startling news. This was not a practice run or a simulation - it was a real-world threat.
An automated telescope in South America had detected a rock, about the size of a small building, speeding through space. Although such sightings are fairly common, this particular asteroid posed an increasing threat over time. As more observatories began tracking it and making more calculations, the odds of it hitting Earth rose from less than 0.05% to over 1%, with an expected impact year of 2032.
Global Notification Triggered
Due to the size of the asteroid and the increased likelihood of impact, this event triggered the first worldwide alert from the global organization since it established a planetary defense cooperation in 2013. Despite the slim chances, the potential impact of such a large and fast-moving asteroid could release energy equivalent to hundreds of times the power of the Hiroshima bomb, posing a significant risk.
At this point, another officer, responsible for planetary defense, had been working tirelessly. She was in constant communication with a global network of astronomers, as well as experts who calculate the orbits and trajectories of distant rocks. "We had trained for this with simulations, but this was the real thing," she says. "The adrenaline kicked in."
Together, they drafted a letter and sent it to the leader of the global organization. "We were very quick in preparing the drafts. So this was the first real-time test of an international response."
Space Threats are Real
Space threats are not just theoretical. In 2013, a meteor measuring 20 meters wide exploded over Russia, releasing energy equivalent to 500 kilotonnes of TNT. The resulting shock wave shattered windows in thousands of apartment blocks, injuring over 1,200 people and causing immediate skin burns.
At one point, the asteroid, designated as 2024 YR4, became the most significant short-term threat since the discovery of Apophis in 2004. The asteroid even activated another global organization's advisory group, tasked with planning ways to save Earth, including potentially deflecting the asteroid by colliding it with a spacecraft - a technique successfully tested in a 2022 mission.
Guarding Space
The organization, not widely known and based in a modest center in Vienna, was created in the late 1950s at the dawn of the space age. The team of 35 manages a wide range of responsibilities, including promoting international law and regulation in an increasingly crowded and competitive space.
They also run a program called 'Space for All', which helps countries without a space program access the benefits of orbit. Their disaster and emergency response program facilitates access to satellite imagery for countries facing natural disasters. But their most critical role is to keep a record of satellites launched into Earth’s orbit. As the number of satellites exceeds 10,000, with many more planned for launch, the space closest to Earth is becoming a congested and risky traffic zone.
The responsibility sometimes involves serving as a mediator for potential satellite collisions – a role that becomes exceedingly complex when the satellites involved belong to nations with strained diplomatic relations.
In one instance, a satellite from Malaysia and one from North Korea were on a collision path, only 75 meters apart. Without any official communication channel with North Korea, the team had to send all the information they had to North Korean email addresses, knowing that they would likely not get a reply. A response never came, but the North Korean satellite moved out of the way.
Whether it's alerting about a potentially city-destroying asteroid, facilitating disaster relief imagery for floods, or preventing a collision in Earth’s orbit, this small team in Vienna is making a significant impact. "Because we have been in this straitjacket of not enough staff, not enough budget, it has forced the office to be extremely efficient," she says.
As for the 2024 YR4 asteroid, it served as a useful test for the organization's role in planetary defense. For now, the asteroid is being monitored. Although its impact probability for a strike on Earth peaked at more than 3% at one point, it has since dropped to a negligible level.
"All of a sudden," she says, "it was gone."