An asteroid the size of Texas is heading directly toward Earth at 22,000 mph. NASA's executive director, Dan Truman, has only one option - to send up a crew to destroy the asteroid. He enlists the help of Harry S. Stamper - the world's foremost deep core oil driller - and Stamper's roughneck team of drillers to land on the asteroid, drill into its surface, and drop a nuclear device.
