Meteorites

Do you want to find a meteorite? 

If you want to find a piece of rock that has fallen from space, you need to look out on the Antarctic ice. The pristine white surface makes meteorites easier to see. 

Alexander Gerst is part of a team hunting for rocks from space. He is a former commander of the International Space Station and has spent more time in orbit than any other European. 

Today, he is back on Earth searching for clues about the origin of our solar system. 

Everybody knows that the dinosaurs came to extinction because a big asteroid crashed into Earth. And nowadays, we still have asteroids hitting Earth.

Sooner or later, a bigger one is going to hit us! The earlier we detect the threat, the more chance we have to take actions to prevent it before it can have a significant impact. 

Most meteorites date back billions of years right to the birth of the Solar System. 

A devastating asteroid impact is going to happen, just as another pandemic is going to emerge. 

Unlike the dinosaurs, we don't just have to sit around and wait for doom to rain down on us. 

Is the sky falling on our heads? :) So it seems Asterix and Obelix were right to worry, but don't let it keep you up at night.

There is still more chance of winning the lottery than being hit by something from space. 

We all remember Tintin who sets sail with Captain Haddock to find the meteorite in the stormy Arctic Ocean. But soon they find out that another ship is sailing toward the strange meteorite and their expedition turns then into a true race. Of course, the Earth survives the landing of the meteorite, and Tintin and his faithful dog Snowy get to go along on the expedition.

But could we survive a deadly Asteroid impact? Could humans survive if a dinosaur-ending space rock hit earth? 

I think that we can survive a deadly Asteroid impact just as our early ancestors did. I believe that humans are more intelligent than dinosaurs and would be able to survive using their cunning, scientists and mathematicians people ;) Humans are smarter, right?

NASA is working on a mission to survive asteroids. 

But how about working on serious missions to survive pandemics? To prevent pandemics?