☄️Ever simulated a potential asteroid impact on Earth? We have. 🦖 This week, #UNOOSA and our UN Platform for Space-based Information for Disaster Management and Emergency Response (UN-SPIDER) team joined global experts at the International Academy of Astronautics 9th Planetary Defence Conference in South Africa to strengthen global readiness for asteroid threats. At the heart of the event was a simulation exercise based on a fictional asteroid, "2024 PDC25", with a hypothetical impact set for 24 April 2041. The projected impact zone stretched 470 km across 🇦🇴 Angola and 🇨🇩 the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Participants were first briefed by experts from the International Asteroid Warning Network (#IAWN) and the Space Mission Planning Advisory Group (#SMPAG), the two global coordination mechanisms UNOOSA works with to strengthen preparedness against a potential asteroid impact hazard. They were then challenged to: 1️⃣ Select effective asteroid deflection options, 2️⃣ Navigat...