International and inter-agency cooperation was crucial in this landmark asteroid impact exercise, proving once more the need for global-scale preparedness in the face of potential planetary threats.

In April, the fifth biennial Planetary Defense Interagency Tabletop Exercise took place at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland. A total of nearly 100 US government agency officials and, for the first time, international collaborators came together to exercise response strategies in a hypothetical asteroid impact scenario, with an eye to identifying areas for enhanced performance.

‘Everyone needs to be pulling in the same direction when it comes to the threat of an asteroid,’ said Leviticus Lewis, a FEMA detailer to NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office. ‘This exercise gave us an opportunity to see where the potholes might be, to ensure our plans provide us the best opportunity for worldwide community protection.’

They would have to make decisions about everything from impact trajectory predictions to evacuation planning to post-impact recovery The presence of international partners hinted at the importance of being able to communicate and work with one another across national borders in the event of an authentic crisis.

An important aspect of this exercise was incorporating data from NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission, which impacted an asteroid last year to change its orbit, so participants could test their response strategy in a bit more of a ‘real-world’ context.

The results from the exercise once again highlighted the need for continued scientific research, development of technologies, and international collaborations in planetary defense. Although the chances of a massive asteroid slamming into Earth remain low, a little preparedness will go a long way in making sure that we are more than just lucky.

Still, no one at NASA or their partners is backing down on improving planetary defense. At the moment, plans are set to develop new technologies and build more partnerships across the international community in response to any flying objects that might cause us trouble. The tabletop exercise is part of NASA’s ongoing response.

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