The fear that the Earth could be destroyed by a killer asteroid is an anxiety that pops up all the time in fiction and is grounded in fact. But funnily enough—actually being pancaked by a giant space rock? Not something you need to spend a whole lot of time worrying about! And that’s because a bunch of NASA scientists and engineers are already worried about it for us. In this episode, science journalist Dr. Robin George Andrews tells us the story of NASA’s first-ever mission to defend the planet, which is the subject of his new book, How to Kill an Asteroid. This episode was written and produced by Sofie Kodner. It was edited by Willa Paskin and Evan Chung. Decoder Ring is produced by Willa Paskin, Evan Chung, Max Freedman and Katie Shepherd, with help from Sofie Kodner. Derek John is Executive Producer. Merritt Jacob is Senior Technical Director. If you have any cultural mysteries you want us to decode, email us at DecoderRing@slate.com Want more Decoder Ring? Subscribe to Slate Plus to unlock exclusive bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of the Decoder Ring show page. Or, visit slate.com/decoderplus to get access wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
February 15, 2013, started like any other day for the 1.2 million people who live in the Russian city of Chelyabinsk.
It was a crisp winter's day.
Pretty cold out, nice blue sky.
Dr.
Robin George Andrews is a trained scientist turned author and science writer.
Perfectly normal day.
But then suddenly, an increasingly bright burning white light was like arcing across the sky, leaving this, like vaporous trail.
It would have looked like a missile.
Chelyabinsk is the sleepy administrative capital of a region in southwestern Russia.
Until this moment, it was best known, if it was known at all, for being home to one of the worst nuclear accidents in history.
Now this light streaking across its sky was getting brighter and brighter.
And then a large deafening explosion.
The ground lit up red and white.
People were knocked off their feet.
Eardrums would be ringing.
It would have thudded on your chest like if you fell off a bridge into some water or something.
Immediately terrifying.
Residents in the streets shrieked with panic.
At least one person screamed, it's the end of the Earth.
Roofs collapsed, windows shattered in buildings in six different cities as far as 30 miles away.