CMA presents "L.A. Rocks: Simulated Asteroid Hits City"

Imagine an asteroid crashing into Los Angeles. The illustration above shows potential locations of a simulated impact. Now imagine that in the months before this catastrophic event, the following press release appears:

Asteroid Impact Will Occur in Greater Los Angeles Area on September 20

Cambridge, MA, March 10, 2020 —The International Asteroid Warning Network (IAWN) announced today that based on worldwide observations since October 2016 and data acquired from a recent spacecraft flyby, orbit prediction experts have determined that asteroid 2016 TTX will impact over land in the greater Los Angeles area on September 20, 2020.

This hypothetical scenario, which was actually simulated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as part of an exercise in 2016, gives rise to some intriguing questions: Will there be time to deflect the asteroid off its collision course? Will anyone believe that an impact will happen? Please join us as Paul Chodas explores this hypothetical scenario (which he developed) and discusses how JPL's Center for Near-Earth Object (NEO) Studies works with FEMA, the Planetary Defense Coordination Office, and the United Nations Space Mission Planning Advisory Group to understand and respond to an asteroid impact threat.

This talk is free. All members of the Campus and JPL communities and retirees are welcome. For more information, contact Steve Matousek at (818) 354-6689 or [email protected]. Or email [email protected].

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