Don’t worry, the world isn’t coming to an end – at least, not yet. We may be having a pretty big space problem straight out of a movie in the future, though, as NASA just launched a spacecraft into space to disrupt an asteroid. If that sounds oddly familiar, it’s because Michael Bay basically predicted the same situation in his 1998 film Armageddon, starring ultimate badass Bruce Willis. Apparently, the sci-fi film was “not far off” from real life, as Armageddon basically becomes a true story, minus all the drilling.
NASA launched its DART rocket yesterday with the intention of crashing into an asteroid, with the purpose of the crash not being to destroy the asteroid, but to knock it slightly off course. This is only a test to see if this type of plan would work if Earth were ever threatened by an asteroid heading in its direction. The asteroid targeted by DART is millions of miles away and poses no threat to Earth. Phew.
With such a plan being set into motion, though, it’s tough not to think of Michael Bay and Armageddon, a film in which an asteroid is very much on course to be the end of our world. Bay seems to have had a little fun with the idea that he “told us so”, because he posted about the uncanny correlation on his Instagram, and you can check out his post below:
It’s a little unnerving that a movie director known for dramatic and over the top action films (I mean, it’s not called Bayhem for nothing), of all people, would be the one who knew what one of the biggest threats to Earth may be. NASA is, in fact, concerned about the possibility that Earth could be threatened by space rocks.
If the fact that our scientists are taking on a similar concern and plan that Michael Bay foretold in Armageddon, there is a particular bright side to this new development: at least they are thinking ahead and planning. In Bay’s film, there is no preparation taken before the asteroid is seen and determined to basically wipe the planet off the map.
In an interview with The Wrap, Michael Bay seems to agree that it’s a positive thing that scientists are making plans for such an end of the world event. In fact, it seems as though he may have even made Armageddon with the real fear that asteroids would be our undoing, calling them “lethal”. Here’s what he says, exactly:
Thank God they’re doing something because these things (asteroids), they’re lethal. They come in 24,000 miles an hour, if I remember correctly — it’s an airburst to the ground.
We won’t really know what happens with the DART rocket for almost a year, as it will take 10 months for the spacecraft to reach the asteroid and collide. Hopefully, there are no unforeseen consequences of sending the DART rocket millions of miles into space and hitting a big rock, but that’s a whole different movie anyway.