Humanity’s Real Plan to Stop This Asteroid (Feat. Mark Rober)

If an asteroid is coming for Earth… what would we really do?
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Imagine, it’s 2034, and a rock the size of a mountain, far off in our solar system is on a direct impact course for Earth. How would we know? And what would we actually DO about it?

In this video, we play out a fictional asteroid headed for Earth – with help from my friend and former NASA engineer Mark Rober and rare access into a remote facility where they discover NEW asteroids – to show you all the real science and tech we would use to defend our planet if an asteroid is about to hit Earth!

[SPOILER] Our rock was published in the Minor Planet Electronic Circular (MPEC) here! MPEC 2025-K125 : 2025 KS6

Chapters:
00:00 Did an asteroid hit Earth?
01:00 What happens if an asteroid is headed towards Earth?
01:52 Is that Mark Rober?
03:26 How big was the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs?
04:30 What happens when an asteroid hits Earth?
07:30 How are asteroids discovered?
10:39 Will an asteroid hit Earth?
13:15 Can we stop an asteroid?
15:27 What if we nuke an asteroid?
18:03 Did we discover an asteroid?
19:41 Did we stop the asteroid from hitting Earth?
20:42 Why is this HUGE* If True?
21:34 Can we escape Alcatraz?
21:42 :)

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Bio:
Cleo Abram is an Emmy-nominated independent video journalist. On her show, HUGE* If True, Cleo explores complex technology topics with rigor and optimism, helping her audience understand the world around them and see positive futures they can help build. Before going independent, Cleo was a video producer for Vox. She wrote and directed the Coding and Diamonds episodes of Vox’s Netflix show, Explained. She produced videos for Vox’s popular YouTube channel, was the host and senior producer of Vox’s first ever daily show, Answered, and was co-host and producer of Vox’s YouTube Originals show, Glad You Asked.

Additional reading and watching:
- Veritasium, "These are the asteroids to worry about": https://youtu.be/4Wrc4fHSCpw?si=WhtX_q0TRzimx17b
- NASA “Planetary Defenders (NASA + Documentary)”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOb2DQWvDvc&t=665s
- NASA's Near-Earth Object Observation Programs (Including Catalina Sky Survey): https://science.nasa.gov/planetary-defense-neoo/
- JPL Center for Near Earth Object Studies (CNEOS): https://cneos.jpl.nasa.gov/
- The Minor Planet Center: https://minorplanetcenter.net/
- International Asteroid Warning Network: https://iawn.net/
- Space Mission Planning Advisory Group: https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/smpag#:~:text=It%20was%20formally%20endorsed%20by%20the%20Committee,page%20is%20the%20technical%20reference%20for%20SMPAG.
- DART Mission: https://dart.jhuapl.edu/Mission/index.php
- ESA, Asteroid Danger Explained: https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2018/06/Asteroid_danger_explained
- Definitions and Assumptions - NEO: https://neo.ssa.esa.int/definitions-assumptions

Vox: https://www.vox.com/authors/cleo-abram
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm10108242/

Gear I use:
Camera: Sony A7SIII
Lens: Sony 16–35 mm F2.8 GM
Audio: Sennheiser SK AVX and Zoom H4N Pro

Music: Musicbed, Tom Fox

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—
Hey, welcome to the joke down low!

What do you call a famous asteroid? A rock star.

Find a way to use “rock star” in a comment to let me know you’re a real one who made it to the end of the description :)

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