Humanity ‘in danger’ from killer asteroids as NASA’s defence ‘not sufficient’ to guard us
As asteroid Apophis is set to make a near-miss of Earth in 2029, California startup ExLabs wants to use the flyby as a real-world planetary-defence test, arguing NASA funding is too low
An artist’s illustration of asteroid Apophis flying by Earth during its 2029 close encounter(Image: Image credit: Apophis: ESA-Science Office, Earth added in Canva Pro.)
A big asteroid called Apophis is reportedly heading toward Earth, and a new company in California, USA, wants to make sure we are ready for it. In the year 2029, Apophis will fly very close to our blue planet.
While shaped like a giant, gray potato and being taller than most skyscrapers, it won’t hit us. This time. Nevertheless, it will be so close that you can see it with your own eyes in the night sky.
Because it is coming so close, a company called ExLabs thinks this is the perfect time to practice protecting the world. However, James Orsulak, who helps lead ExLabs, says that NASA doesn’t have enough money dedicated to stopping space rocks.
He said: “NASA’s planetary defense budget is less than one percent of the total space agency. That’s not enough to ever do anything.”
He believes that instead of waiting for the government to take action, private companies should build spaceships that could potentially save us, Space reported. If companies compete to build the best and cheapest ships, we could consequently send them into space much faster.
As a result, ExLabs wants to send a mission called Apophis EX which would be the first commercial deep space ride share mission. Scientists therefore want to send cameras and tools to follow the asteroid before and after it passes Earth.
They also want to make it exciting for everyone to watch. Moreover, they hope to show the asteroid’s journey live on big movie screens, like the Super Bowl, so people can see that “It’s time to tell the truth of science fiction becoming science fact”.
Edward Lu, a former astronaut, reportedly says we need to be able to build and launch ships quickly to be truly safe. He says that being able to send up a rocket whenever we need one is the key.
Lu explained: “This is going to be what makes the Earth secure, the industrial capacity to call up a launch, tomorrow or the next week.” By watching Apophis closely in 2029, we will reportedly learn how these rocks move and what they are made of.
This way, if a dangerous one ever heads straight for us, we won’t have to guess what to do. Furthermore, we will already have the tools ready to save the day.
Lu further told Space that things are happening on the private side and they are happening fast. He concluded: “The pace of change is mind-boggling, the capacity of building things quickly.
“We are getting to the point where we can build a spacecraft in a year. That’s quite doable.”
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