1
00:00:00,400 --> 00:00:07,040
Planetary defense is finding asteroids before\h
they find us but then also maybe getting asteroids\h\h

2
00:00:07,040 --> 00:00:13,520
before they get us. My name is Kelly Fast and I'm\h
a planetary defender. In the Planetary Defense\h\h

3
00:00:13,520 --> 00:00:18,560
Coordination Office, I manage the Near-Earth\h
Object Observations Program. I handle the program\h\h

4
00:00:18,560 --> 00:00:25,920
that addresses finding the asteroids and this\h
handles getting the asteroids. This is the DART\h\h

5
00:00:25,920 --> 00:00:32,080
spacecraft. The DART mission is just a spacecraft\h
that is going to go and smack an asteroid. It is\h\h

6
00:00:32,080 --> 00:00:37,680
fantastic to see it in real life. DART will only\h
be changing the period of the orbit of Dimorphos\h\h

7
00:00:37,680 --> 00:00:44,240
by a tiny amount and really that's all that's\h
needed in the event that an asteroid is discovered\h\h

8
00:00:44,240 --> 00:00:50,640
well ahead of time before it might impact Earth.\h
You can't have a mission like DART without finding\h\h

9
00:00:50,640 --> 00:00:55,920
the asteroids first. That involves searching for\h
near-Earth asteroids, getting them in the catalog,\h\h

10
00:00:55,920 --> 00:01:00,000
calculating their orbits, tracking them,\h
keeping an eye on them. You know as a kid\h\h

11
00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:06,560
I loved astronomy. I love Star Trek. So I became\h
a research astronomer my first observing run ever\h\h

12
00:01:06,560 --> 00:01:12,720
was observing the impact of comet Shoemaker-Levy\h9 with Jupiter. I never would have known that\h\h

13
00:01:12,720 --> 00:01:17,840
somehow my career would kind of come full circle\h
to be part of something that affects people's\h\h

14
00:01:17,840 --> 00:01:23,120
everyday lives. I feel really honored and humbled\h
to be working in the field of planetary defense\h\h

15
00:01:23,120 --> 00:01:27,520
because it can affect people. It's just\h
really exciting to have that kind of role\h\h