NASA says supervolcanoes ‘are a bigger threat than any asteroid’

Hollywood is obsessed with the idea of giant asteroids wiping out all life on Earth – but there could be a bigger threat lurking under our feet, NASA warns.

NASA says that supervolcano eruptions are a bigger threat to life than any asteroid – but the space agency has a plan up its sleeve in case the Yellowstone supervolcano under America ever erupts.

Supervolcano eruptions are a terrifying destructive force – which can blanket huge areas in ash and change the climate for decades.

The Yellowstone supervolcano is thought to contain up to 500 billion cubic miles of molten rock.

Brian Wilson of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory told the BBC, ‘I was a member of the NASA Advisory Council on Planetary Defense which studied ways for NASA to defend the planet from asteroids and comets.

‘I came to the conclusion during that study that the super volcano threat is substantially greater than the asteroid or comet threat.’

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But while the Yellowstone supervolcano does not pose any immediate threat, NASA already has an idea of how to stop an eruption.

Scientists from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory calculated that the supervolcano would have to be cooled by 35% – which could be achieved by ‘pricking’ its surface.

Scientists propose drilling six miles into the hydrothermal water to the sides of the magma chamber – and injecting cooler water.

NASA’s experts believe that this could – hopefully – cool the volcano enough to prevent a disastrous eruption.