Your Asteroid Insurance Policy Has Expired

I can’t count the number of stories I’ve read (or seen in movies) about Near Earth Asteroids. Even though I was kind of fond of the Bruce Willis / Liv Tyler performances, all of these stories are moving along the same line : an asteroid is detected, a conspiracy tries to keep it quiet, a big project is on its way to destroy/divert the rocky monster, and they either succeed in the end, or the survivors find a way to do so.

This morning, while checking on all the wonderful news Zite and Feedly bring me, I stopped on an interesting article, about nonprofit private space telescope which would hunt down rogue asteroids. And this little idea came up to my mind. In a near future, private companies will own about everything that’s now public service. Including seek and destroy of asteroids. Of course, if it’s a huge one which represent a planetary danger, the company in charge of the destruction will just bill it to the world governments. But what of small asteroids, which could, let’s say, destroy a small city. Or even just a neighborhood ?

I imagined a scene where the Company Guy knocks at a farmer’s door. “Your Asteroid Insurance Policy has expired… And there is a small ball of nickel and iron heading right down on your house. How would you like to pay ?”

It made me laugh, at first. On a second thought… you never know.

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