NASA and the Federal Emergency Management Agency are planning to conduct an asteroid impact simulation with international partners. The two agencies will take part in a simulated tabletop exercise through which they will work to identify critical aspects and issues of disaster response for a possible asteroid impact, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory said Wednesday.
JPL’s Center for Near-Earth Object Studies or CNEOS developed a fictional asteroid impact scenario for the exercise that would take place next week at the 2019 Planetary Defense Conference. Attendees, consisting of space organizations from around the globe, will examine the scenario to determine requirements for an effective disaster response.
“These exercises have really helped us in the planetary defense community to understand what our colleagues on the disaster management side need to know,” said Lindley Johnson, planetary defense officer of NASA. “This exercise will help us develop more effective communications with each other and with our governments,” Johnson added.
