Apparently, NASA believes that the end is nigh. They have a team dedicated to watching the skies for something that could obliterate an entire continent… And, they’re learning how to fight it.
NASA Isn’t Just For Space Exploration
Whenever someone says NASA, you automatically think of the moon landing and shooting rockets into space, right? Turns out, NASA isn’t just about space exploration, but doomsday prep as well…
Doomsday Prep?
Lindley Johnson joined NASA in 2003 after 23 years in the Air Force. Ever since he’s been on the team, he’s been producing plans to prepare for a probable doomsday.
Not Totally Crazy
There have been ‘end of the world’ theories for hundreds of years, so Lindley isn’t too crazy to try and think of a plan! Instead of thinking in conspiracy theories, Lindley thinks in analytics and numbers…
His Main Worry
Lindley isn’t worried about alien threats or nuclear wars… He’s more worried about space rocks. Even though it’s not uncommon to see meteorites crash land on Earth, Lindley is worried about larger ones…
Giant Asteroid
Lindley believes that there’s a huge probability that an asteroid as big as multiple football fields that will hit our planet. If it landed in the water, it might be fine… But, if it lands on land? Not so good.
Facts On His Side
NASA granted him the responsibility to investigate any sort of hypothetical situation where a life-ending meteor is hurtling towards Earth. Lindley wants us all to be ready…
Interesting Thoughts
Obviously, NASA was so convinced by Lindley’s hypothesis that they lead him to lead a team investigating. Even if it wasn’t likely, that doesn’t mean that it’s unlikely. So, they began to research deeper…
Running Simulations
In his time with the team, Lindley was able to create intense simulations to get an idea of where asteroids are most likely to land. Along with that, they were able to see what kinds of damage it could make.
Utmost Importance
At first, no one took him seriously. Most assumed that he was just a crazy person spitting off conspiracy theories… Then, he brought the facts to Congress.
Spending Spike
He was able to convince Congress to amp up the budget from $5 million to $50 million. That’s when everyone knew just how serious this was… Congress doesn’t give out money easily for things that are hypothetical.
Collecting Scary Data
Since then, NASA has collected data from over 2,000 asteroids in our solar system that are capable of destroying an entire continent. So, what do you do?
How Will They Save Us?
Most people assume that ‘blowing it up’ would be the best way to handle this… Unfortunately, that would cause way too much fallout and probably even more damage, so other routes will have to be taken.
Kinetic Impactors
Using science to fight science, the idea of using kinetic impactors wouldn’t be terrible. They would use an unmanned spacecraft to crash into the asteroid to try and deflect from the planet. Like pool!
Asteroid Landing
NASA thinks that having astronauts land on the asteroid to try and stop it would work. So, instead of sending an unmanned craft to try and use kinetic force to get rid of the asteroid, they would put men on the asteroid to try and reroute it using other scientific factors.
Maybe Not
Lindley isn’t convinced. He doesn’t believe that would be the most effective in getting rid of the asteroid, but NASA is fully prepared to send men to a life-threatening meteor!
Training
Either way, NASA has been training men to land on a meteor. They even want to send someone to a meteor soon, to collect samples and to see how meteors react to force in space!
Asteroid Protection
Lindley’s data collection has been so alarming that they’ve taken the liberties to install orbital telescopes to monitor space rocks.
Spotting It Ahead
Lindley has expressed that the most important thing in saving the world is to be able to spot the meteor before it breaks into our atmosphere. Noticing the meteor even a few days ahead would be detrimental…
Bringing In FEMA
If they aren’t able to stop the catastrophic meteor, they’re going to have to try and save hundreds of thousands of lives. That means evacuating the area and working with FEMA to try and get people out of there.
How To Save Lives
Lindley knows that FEMA will be a huge part in saving peoples’ lives in the case of this event. “They are a great way for us to learn how to work together and meet each other’s needs,” Lindley explained.
Bringing International Attention
In 2019, Lindley organized a conference with the European Space Agency and the International Asteroid Warning Network. He single-handedly brought these people together in order to try and save the world.
Let’s Get Prepared!
Although this may never happen, Lindley wants everyone to be prepared. It won’t be the type of ‘doomsday’ you see in the movies, but some people still prepped their panic bunkers…
Life or Death
Although this is life-altering, Lindley believes that as long as NASA can keep an eye on the sky, everything should be fine. This isn’t the only job in NASA that can lead to the demise of the world…
George Aldrich
George Aldrich is a Chemical Specialist at NASA. That means that he needs to “smell” anything that needs to head into space. It sounds a bit weird, but it’s extremely important…
Saving The Astronauts
When astronauts go up into space for long periods of time and are stuck in close quarters. If they have any chemicals that put off harmful odors that could seriously harm them…
Their Lives Are In His Hands
So, why is this so scary? Well, their lives are literally in his hands. He has to inspect everything that goes up into that shuttle with them. If anything goes wrong, lives could be at stake.
Building The Team
NASA quickly realized how important this role was. George basically invented the role for himself at the time while working at NASA, and quickly grew a team. Everyone is here helping NASA astronauts survive in space in the oddest way.
Trial and Error
George has invented a system to make sure this goes flawlessly. He smells the back of his own hand between smelling the chemicals in order to reset his senses. This method has saved so many lives!
Things They Cant Bring
A film camera is a huge offender. They can get extremely toxic in space crafts and could produce chemicals that can kill astronauts. Other things can just get gross…
Gross Things
Weirdly enough, velcro is a huge smelly offender! If velcro straps are pushed together, it can put out a really horrible smell.
The Most Important Nose
In his 44 years of working for NASA, Aldrich has only missed two tests… Because he was sick. Without him, who knows what could have happened to these brave astronauts and the future of space exploration.