Rocks fall out of the sky all the time.
The calculated odds are that in an area the size of Britain alone, one person every 7,000 years might get squashed by a meteorite. However, in history the actual number of deaths by meteorite squashings is in fact lower even than the odds. The only person known to have been hurt by a meteorite in recent memory is one lady in Alabama in 1954. The 3.6kg rock crashed through her roof and injured her shoulder. So not even a real squashing! In 2002, a british schoolgirl had a meteorite fragment land on her shoe. As far as it is possible to know, no one in living memory has ever been killed by a meteorite.
Is it possible to be hit by a meteorite? Yes it is. You do have better odds of winning the lottery though. On Earth, a lot of these rocks burn up in the atmosphere. There is a lot of atmosphere on Earth, but not so much on Mars. Consequently, more rock reaches the surface of Mars. That explains why there are so many more craters on Mars than on Earth. Still, that only increases what is a very minute chance.
If you are worried about it, get out the barbecue and tell you boss where to go; you have a better chance of winning this week's lottery. Honest! If you do not feel your odds are good for the lottery, then you can put aside your fears for death by "rock falling from the sky."Talking of Lottery, the latest Short Story from the Mars Exile series is now available. David Brennan and Dr Mark Well go in search of a wayared rover.
You can download this short story in PDF format from here.
I wonder if you can already guess what heppens to it?
