Could the sky really be falling?

• Author: Schweickart, Russell L.
• Position: OPINION - Brief article

There is slim (1 in 45,000) but real. chance that an 850-a foot-tong asteroid called Apophis could strike Earth with catastrophic consequences in 2036. The good news is that scientists think we have the technology to intercept and deflect many asteroids headed toward us with a robotic space mission that could slightly change the orbit of a dangerous asteroid so that it would miss us. But NASA has dropped the ball, saying it couldn't come up with a plan to get the job done...