Are We Prepared For an Asteroid Hit?

 Canadian and American astronauts say the world needs to prepare for the big one — the asteroid impact that could one day devastate the Earth. They want a plan in place that can be implemented in plenty of time to save the Earth.
Veteran Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield is president of the Association of Space Explorers, which has prepared a detailed report on the asteroid threat. The United Nations is currently studying the report, which outlines plans to detect and deflect any objects in space that might threaten the planet.

Former US astronaut Rusty Schweickart says the basic technology to do this already exists. But he says the effort to steer an asteroid clear of the Earth would have to begin at least 10 years before the expected impact. One scenario involves smashing a spacecraft into the asteroid to knock it off its collision course.

Canada is about to assume a key role in the search for potential threats from space. The Canadian Space Agency intends to launch NEOSSat next March to look for asteroids that may be hiding near the sun.
The $15-million suitcase-sized satellite will circle about 700 kilometres above the Earth. A Canadian Space Agency official says NEOSSat is expected to detect hundreds of new asteroids during its first year of operation. It will also monitor the heavy traffic of satellites now orbiting the Earth to try to prevent possible collisions.

I have faith in Rusty. Aside from being a former astronaut and wearing many other hats, he is a co-founder of the B612 Foundation, a non-profit foundation that studies asteroids and researches ways to deflect them from earth. Of course, it's wonderful that scientists are studying black holes and searching the skies for a solar system like our own.  As Stephen Hawking has warned us, our only chance of survival in the future will be the colonization of another planet. But if the earth is hit by an asteroid, none of that may matter. If it is big enough, it's 'GOODNIGHT NURSE' for all of us. Fortunately, there are no immediate threats of an asteroid strike, so don't panic, hoard food and build a bomb shelter  ( wouldn't do you any good anyhow).