impactarchive

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972998 Epipheron, as seen from the Eureka Fast Flyby mission's Long Range Imaging System (LoRIS). (Photo Credit to NASA)

Reconnaissance missions to the Asteroid were numerous, building on countless hours of routine and practice undertaken by space agencies across the world. Readiness, in many ways, was at an all time high - at least in terms of policy practice. Javelin Protocol, a complex policy and continuity of government agreement, had been signed into law in mid-2025, upon the recommendation from the National Space Council, Small Bodies Assessment Group, Space Force and Department of Energy. However, the second Trump administration had kicked the can down the road in terms of its execution, with the first task order for the promised "Deflection Fleet" of spacecraft only going out alongside the long delayed 2027 Budget Request. Cuts during the second Trump Administration, a key talking point of the Ossoff campaign, had done more to decimate the American industrial landscape in terms of readiness. Quality control suffered, and commercial partners who lacked experience were drawn in as a main element of the American industrial base - whether they were ready or not. NASA's Eureka mission, alongside the Japanese Sukauto spacecraft, would conduct in depth flybys of the asteroid, with the hopes of characterizing the rock for a potential deflection mission. This would ultimately never come, with the first Deflection Fleet spacecraft failing nearly 2 weeks prior to its expected arrival at Epipheron - ultimately precluding any attempt to move the asteroid away from Planet Earth.

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The 2028 Election.

Final results: Jon Ossoff and Wes Moore of the Democratic Party, 332 Electoral Votes. JD Vance and Marco Rubio of the Republican Party, 191 Electoral Votes. Mark Cuban and Krysten Sinema of the American Restoration Party, 15 Electoral Votes.

Trump's presidency, under his second term, had been devastating to the economy, which governed his response to Impact Day more than anything. He saw it as a chance to really spin things up, move in a direction where he could be seen as this great American titan for the industrial base. That didn't pan out. His refusal to work with California legislators and ultimate abandonment of much of the federal funding surrounding Impact Day left the Pacific states to largely fend for themselves. The GOP, paralyzed by a future without Trump, began to scrounge for their next pick. The economy, shattered by an unsuccessful trade war with China and the fallout of the asteroid, prompted many to look in a new direction.

This is what Cuban and Sinema so desperately tried to do, spinning up their own independent party mostly consisting of not-too-liberal but not-too-conservative evangelicals in an effort to advocate for the "the restoration of American values." They crashed and burned pretty quickly, only really resonating with isolated patches of Americans in the western half of the country.

Ossoff and Moore won on a platform of restoration, breaking down the red tape to address systematic issues which had festered under the Trump presidency, as well as a baseline "return to normalcy" that so many Americans were desperately searching for in the wake of energy shortages, shipping and logistics concerns, and relocation in response to the Asteroid. Ossoff's "Breaking down the Barriers" speech, delivered at Los Angeles City Hall in August, 2028 was largely credited as a definitive path to victory for the Democrats, as the Ossoff/Moore team was the only one to visit the devastated areas of Los Angeles and San Diego, as well as meeting with Govenors of impacted states. California Governor Kamala Harris was present with Ossoff and Moore on Election Night, as they watched the results come in. Speaking on November 10, President-Elect Ossoff spoke of a "new, prosperous age" for America, adding that "January 20, 2029 will be a step towards a greater understanding of the world, and ourselves."

Artifact dated November 9, 2028.

Many thanks to Jess for the election assistance!

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Everyone got a text like this one. Evacuation Centers, the ones FEMA and the military spun up for Impact Day, were really one of the biggest disasters out of all of this. Photo ID to get in... A lottery system. It was all just a farce to prevent "undesirables" from getting in and causing a fuss. People just wanted to survive this thing and get back to normal. I really don't feel like that's too much to ask. People were just gonna go along with what they were told to do. Shit like this built so much distrust... God, if only we knew what was coming.

Artifact dated March 1, 2028.

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Man... This was the big one. This is the one where a lot of us realized that we couldn't fucking do anything. What are you supposed to do when the world is seemingly crashing down on your head? I know this one freaked a lot of people out, and for a long time no one wanted to see the word "FEMA" ever again. I know I certainly wouldn't, but hey - I wasn't down in Long Beach or SD where it got really bad.

Flyers like this were up everywhere in LA, much more so in San Diego. They hired so many people to put up flyers, paint things, whatever. People actually tried to collect the flyers that were closest to the actual time of impact, I heard someone got one that was six hours way from impact. Fat lotta good that would have done, that's basically no time at all... The roads were clogged in both directions, people who wanted to go witness the end I suppose.

Artifact dated March 7, 2028.

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Man... This was the big one. This is the one where a lot of us realized that we couldn't fucking do anything. What are you supposed to do when the world is seemingly crashing down on your head? I know this one freaked a lot of people out, and for a long time no one wanted to see the word "FEMA" ever again. I know I certainly wouldn't, but hey - I wasn't down in Long Beach or SD where it got really bad.

Flyers like this were up everywhere in LA, much more so in San Diego. They hired so many people to put up flyers, paint things, whatever. People actually tried to collect the flyers that were closest to the actual time of impact, I heard someone got one that was six hours way from impact. Fat lotta good that would have done, that's basically no time at all... The roads were clogged in both directions, people who wanted to go witness the end I suppose.

Artifact dated March 7, 2028.

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UCLA was probably the biggest school affected by Impact Day. It wasn't like... the end of the world for everything? But it certainly brought people back to the dark days of March 2020 and everything that came along with that. God, the emails we got were so so similar. Even the timeframe too, now that I think about it. That's way too close for comfort, in my eyes. Anyway... One of my colleagues from the area sent me this old screenshot, she's meticulous about saving all of these kinds of things (read, never deletes her emails....) But hey, I'm grateful for what I can get. This project is built off of the backs of folks like you! Artifact dated: December 15, 2027

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Some of the greatest examples of the asteroid's disruption came from travel. COVID was one thing, sure, but an unknown like an asteroid? That was a whole different ballgame. Evacuation had been tough, and those who had long standing travel plans were completely brushed aside in favor of a hastily executed repatriation. There were flyers like this up in every bus station on the West Side of the city, I managed to get a good quality scan in of this one from some collectibles store in Pasadena. Artifact dated: Jan 5, 2028.

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Welcome to the Archives...

The Impact Archive, as I'd like to call it, is an account of the asteroid strike which occured on March 10, 2028, told through found media, documents, text exchanges and more - now that we are more than 5 years out from planetfall. It aims to capture the human condition during this crisis, underscored by the need to tell these stories in the most authentic way possible. It is my hope, as the Archivist, to tell this story to the best of my ability - and that you all enjoy a look into our own recent history. Thank you