If Armageddon, Deep Impact or Men in Black have ever inspired you to protect Earth from the dangers of space, you will now have a chance to act upon those desires. NASA has created a new organization to save the world from asteroids aliens and space pirate communist. Speaking of communist, will we be seeing China and Russia join in on this endeavor?
ALIENS NO LONGER A THREAT FOR NASA
The Planetary Defense Coordination Office is the aptly named force created by NASA. Members of this elite branch will be tracking asteroids and other deadly objects (aliens?) that pose a threat to Earth. According to NASA, this won’t be as hard as it seems. The agency has reported 13,500 near-Earth objects have been discovered in total and those are just the ones that they have reported. Who knows the countless brushes with aliens we’ve had but remain confidential. For the moment, NASA assures us this operation is strictly related to asteroids.
ASTEROIDS A REAL THREAT TO RUSSIA
Russia understands this threat quite well. Three years ago a meteor flew in at 60,000 kilometers per hour and exploded just 23 kilometers from Chelyabinsk, Russia. The resulting shockwave destroyed windows in 7,200 buildings and injured 1,500 people. At only 59 feet in width, the asteroid went undetected. Russia lucked out with that one. This very real reminder of our helplessness helped inspire NASA to create this defense force. Meanwhile, asteroids and aliens are of no concern for China. Instead, they see the U.S as their biggest threat.
CHINA WAGING WAR ON U.S SATELLITES
The U.S are right to be concerned about threats in space, but should keep an eye on Earth for danger as well. China and Russia have been testing increasingly complex space capabilities. It has confirmed that these developments include orbiting antisatellite systems designed to target U.S space assets. China has armed them with explosives, frags lasers, radio frequency weapon, a jammer and robotic arm. Essentially, China has made a space war machine. This could pose a serious threat as it would allow the Chinese to deter any kind of US intervention from space during a crisis. Suddenly, asteroids and aliens don’t sound so bad.
