What would happen if an Asteroid hit the Earth? NASA is conducting a mock drill

NASA, along with its international partners, is set to conduct a mock exercise that will play out a realistic -- but fictional -- scenario for an asteroid on an impact trajectory with Earth. 

exercise will help planetary defense community understand important aspects of a possible disaster and identify issues for accomplishing a successful response.  

real work of preparing for possibility of an impact of near-Earth objects (NEOs) such as asteroids or comets goes on mostly out of public eye, NASA said in a statement.

In spirit of better communication, next week at 2019 Planetary Defense Conference, NASA's Planetary Defense Coordination Office (PDCO), and science institutions, along with international partners, will participate in a 'tabletop exercise'.

A tabletop exercise of a simulated emergency is commonly used in disaster manment planning to help inform involved players of important aspects of a possible disaster and identify issues for accomplishing a successful response. 

Attendees at conference will play out a fictional NEO impact scenario developed by NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Center for NEO Studies (CNEOS).

"se exercises have really helped us in planetary defense community to understand what our colleagues on disaster manment side need to kw," said Lindley Johnson, NASA's Planetary Defense Officer. 

"This exercise will help us develop more effective communications with each or and with our governments," said Johnson.

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se exercises are t tightly scripted. point is to investigate how NEO observers, ncy officials, emergency manrs, decision makers, and citizens might respond to an actual impact prediction and evolving information. 

exercise events will occur over five days of conference, with exercise leers briefing participants on status of scenario at end of each day and soliciting response ideas and feedback, based on latest fictional data.

scenario begins with fictional premise that on March 26, astromers 'discovered' a NEO y consider potentially hazardous to Earth.

After a 'few months' of tracking, observers predict that this NEO --dubbed 2019 PDC -- poses a 1 in 100 chance of impact with Earth in 2027.

Participants in this exercise will discuss potential preparations for asteroid reconnaissance and deflection missions and planning for mitigation of a potential impact's effects.

NASA has participated in six NEO impact exercises so far three at Planetary Defense Conferences (2013, 2015, 2017) and three jointly with Federal Emergency Manment ncy (FEMA). 

three NASA-FEMA exercises included representatives of several or federal ncies, including Departments of Defense and State. Each exercise builds on lessons learned in previous exercise.

What NASA has learned from working with FEMA is that emergency manment officials are t focused on scientific details about asteroid.

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"What emergency manrs want to kw is when, where, and how an asteroid would impact and and extent of dam that could occur," said Leviticus Lewis, Response Operations Division for FEMA.