How to Kill an Asteroid

The Real Science of Planetary Defense

By: Robin George Andrews

Narrated by: Graham Mack

A gripping account of the "city-killer" asteroids that could threaten Earth and the race to build a planetary defense system.

There are approximately 25,000 "city killer" asteroids in near-Earth orbit—and most are yet to be found. Small enough to evade detection, they are capable of large-scale destruction, and represent our greatest cosmic threat. But in September 2022, against all odds, NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission deliberately crashed a spacecraft into a carefully selected city killer, altering the asteroid's orbit and proving that we stand a chance against them.

In How to Kill an Asteroid, award-winning science journalist Robin George Andrews—who was at DART mission control when it—reveals the development of the technology that made it possible, from spotting elusive asteroids and comets to figuring out their geologic defenses and orchestrating a deflection campaign. In a propulsive narrative that plays like a sci-fi thriller, Andrews tells the story of the planetary defense movement, and introduces the international team of scientists and engineers now working to protect Earth.

©2024 Robin George Andrews (P)2024 Tantor

Nudge an Asteroid, Save the Planet

The DART mission to test out a technique for redirecting an asteroid was a huge success. Now we as a planet need to do more. A surprise visit from a space rock will ruin your plans for the future. Find out what's being done to prevent it.

Skip it, you won't miss much

This book is pretty much trash. It falls into many of the worst popular science pitfalls. Much technical terminology is dumbed down using imprecise substitution words. The author writes using a lot of flowery language (and that's putting it kindly) meant to be engaging, but it just sounds to my ear like an old man trying to be hip with the kids. There isn't enough meat on the bones, either. This book doesn't contain anything you couldn't get browsing Wikipedia for a couple hours. Anyone who's been paying attention to space news for the past decade or two already will not likely learn any new facts reading this book.