access to the bottom is generally limited to scientists.
I recently reread the list of priorities I heard at the Russian Federal Space Agency, and asteroid protection was there, top of the list…
And while researching the Apollo Goodwill Disc, I found this quote from a 2001 interview at JSC:
“it’s so small, it’s very colorful — you know, you see an ocean and gaseous layer, a little bit, just a tiny bit, of atmosphere around it. And, compared with all the other celestial objects — which, in many cases, are much more massive, more terrifying — it looks like it couldn’t put up a very good defense against a celestial onslaught.” — Neil Armstrong
This crater was formed in a fraction of a second as 175 million tons of limestone and bedrock were uplifted, forming the mile-wide crater rim in the formerly flat terrain. The meteorite was only 150 ft. wide.
For a sense of scale, if this hit Kansas City, the blast radius would take out the entire city.
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