Another Asteroid Collision With Earth: It's Just a Matter of Time

Jan. 24, 2007— -- What are the odds an asteroid or meteoroid will hit the Earth again? Pretty good, according to some scientists.

There are millions of these "rocks" out there, and about 200,000 to 400,000 of them get close enough to be classified as celestial objects that could come within range of our home planet.

But it only takes one, as anyone who has studied the dinosaurs will tell you. Many scientists believe an asteroid impact led to the extinction of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago.

Apollo 9 astronaut Russell Schweickart believes it is simply a matter of time before another asteroid targets Earth.

"It could be 20 years, or a hundred years, or a thousand years," he said.

Schweickart is one of the founders of the B612 Foundation, which studies how to alter the orbit of an asteroid to prevent it from hitting Earth. "It's a very infrequent occurrence -- an asteroid impacting the Earth -- but when it happens, it will be devastating."

Schweickart says he's frustrated because he believes this project should be led by an international organization. He contends there is no way to predict when or where an asteroid will hit the Earth, so no single government should be held responsible for asteroid avoidance.

He wants to see the United Nations set up an agency mandated to prevent an asteroid from colliding with the Earth and has planned a series of meetings around the world to develop a comprehensive plan. Schweickart anticipates a project that would cost several hundred million dollars, a burden for any single country, but something much more practical as a combined effort.

How would you keep an asteroid form hitting the Earth? Schweickart outlined a three-step program.