The problem is, we dont really have a viable plan of defense.
Gizmodo: What got you interested in the DART mission?
Robin Andrews: Im a volcanologist by training.
The asteroid Dimorphos seen two seconds before impact by the DART mission.Image: NASA/Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab
Theres nothing really more literal than something in the solar system coming to crash into us.
Gizmodo: Did you plan on writing a book about the DART mission from the start?
Andrews: It was through covering it.
So there was this weird inversion of what people expect and it just felt very dramatic.
Gizmodo: Theres so much humor in your book.
Did that just come naturally?
If they dont take themselves that seriously, I think I always get on with them.
So it felt a lot easier to slip into the goofiness once you saw a sign of it.
Gizmodo: How did this real-life NASA mission compare to some of the movies that portray asteroid collisions?
I love science, obviouslyIm a big massive geek.
Gizmodo: What was it like to be inside mission control during that time?
Andrews: It was amazing.
And it was properly exhilarating.
You couldnt make it up how dramatic it wasthey only had one shot to do this.
Ive never seen people jumping up and down and screaming so much.
Gizmodo: What were the most challenging parts of the mission?
Andrews: I think just getting the mission off the ground.
Its amazing that they even managed to fund this mission.
Andrews: Yeah, I think that was another thing that made me really want to write this book.
Gizmodo: Who do you hope reads this book?
Its important to underscore that.
I hope it convinces them that science is cool.
Its nice to have a feel-good story for once.
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