"Great, now we are a bit safer from asteroids hitting the earth."
but more like
"Great, NASA and the American public think existential risks like asteroids are worth taking seriously. The success of this mission might make it a bit easier to convince people that, one, there are other existential risks worth taking seriously and, two, that we can similarly reduce those risks through policy and technology innovation. Maybe now other existential risk reduction efforts will become more politically palatable, now that we can point to the success of this mission".
[Edit: here's a relevant article that supports my point: "Nasa’s mission gives hope we can defend our planet but human nature and technology present risks of their own" https://on.ft.com/3LNySAM]
What I take from this mission is not so much
"Great, now we are a bit safer from asteroids hitting the earth."
but more like
"Great, NASA and the American public think existential risks like asteroids are worth taking seriously. The success of this mission might make it a bit easier to convince people that, one, there are other existential risks worth taking seriously and, two, that we can similarly reduce those risks through policy and technology innovation. Maybe now other existential risk reduction efforts will become more politically palatable, now that we can point to the success of this mission".
[Edit: here's a relevant article that supports my point: "Nasa’s mission gives hope we can defend our planet but human nature and technology present risks of their own" https://on.ft.com/3LNySAM]