Pulverizing Asteroids For Planetary Defense! w/Brin Bailey, Sasha Cohen, &

References & Resources:
UCSB Experimental Cosmology - PI project webpage: https://www.deepspace.ucsb.edu/projec...
UCSB Experimental Cosmology YouTube channel:    / @ucsbdeepspace  
Recent article regarding the optical and acoustical ground effects, published by Acta Astronautica: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science...
Article detailing the general PI project, published by Advances in Space Research: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science...
Planetary Society article on 5 Asteroid Deflection techniques (Davis, 2023): https://www.planetary.org/articles/as...
NASA’s DART (asteroid deflection) mission: https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nas...

Check out Psyche asteroid & mission video on GEO GIRL's channel:    • Exploration of a Metal World! w/Dr. D...  

Video chapters:
0:00 Introductions
1:51 Why do we need planetary defense?
3:20 How far in advance do we see asteroids?
5:21 Asteroid vs Comet vs Meteor vs Meteorite
7:17 Asteroid composition & structure
8:12 How are asteroids knocked out of the belt?
8:53 Brin’s GSA talk – Pulverize it!
9:33 How does PI work?
10:26 Disruption mode of interception
11:13 Deflection mode of interception
11:45 Terminal (short warning mode)
13:16 Any ground effects?
14:37 How early do we intercept the asteroid?
15:30 Are there other asteroid defense methods?
18:00 How often to asteroids hit Earth?
19:25 Damage by asteroid air bursts
21:03 Ground effects comparison simulation
22:55 Minimum asteroid size to use PI
24:05 Does asteroid composition matter?
24:48 What can we start using PI?
26:23 Do asteroids threaten humankind?
28:57 Resources & Watch Next!

Information about host: Dr. Rachel Phillips is currently an NSF STEM Education Postdoctoral Research Fellow & Instructor at the University of South Carolina. Her research aims to increase geoscience enrollment and engagement through identifying and transforming misperceptions of geoscience. Alongside her research, Rachel promotes global inclusivity & engagement in the field through her YouTube channel, GEO GIRL (   / @geogirl  . Having posted nearly 300 videos with over 3.5 million views from around the globe, Rachel has made significant progress toward improving the accessibility and perceptions of geoscience. As a 2024-25 GSA Science Communication Fellow, she hopes to collaborate with other members of the geoscience community to promote the diversity of ongoing geoscience projects to her global audience with the goal of increasing public understanding of and engagement in the field.