What NASA Would Do If Asteroid Were About To Hit The Earth

The article is from the Daily Mail and entitled, "I head up NASA's asteroid warning division. This is how we'd alert the public if the world was about to end." Lindley Johnson, lead program executive for NASA's Planetary Defense Coordination Office, lays out the steps that NASA would take if it learned about a large celestial object that posed a risk of crashing into the Earth:

1. If astronomers spot a dangerous near-Earth object (NEO), the would share the information with the International Asteroid Warning Network (IAWN). If NASA confirmed the NEO was a danger, it would then issue a warning.
2. If the impact threatened the United States, NASA would contact the White House that would then determine how (and I have to wonder, if) to alert the public.
3. If the impact threatened other countries, the IAWN would reach out to the United Nations Office of Outer Space Affairs to send the word to other countries.
4. Depending on the time available to NASA, it has various plans. For instance, if NASA has more than 5 years, according to the article, it would launch a mission to crash a probe into the object and divert it from striking the Earth. If there was less time, then it would likely require NASA (or the military) to use a missile to either destroy the object or divert its course.