Planetary impacts often occur in space because the mass of a larger object curves the trajectory of a smaller object toward itself. We see examples of this when we look at the Moon's surface, or we can watch the night sky and view small meteors called meteoroids or "shooting stars" lighting up the sky as they burn in the atmosphere. Some meteors called meteorites or "falling stars" make it to the ground. We feel safe and protected by our atmosphere's magnetic fields which surround the Earth. They block the Sun's solar winds and small meteor showers.
What if a large object collided with Earth? We all learn at an early age about the theory of the dinosaurs' extinction. There is not much the Earth can do on its own to protect us from large objects coming toward us at a high velocity, nor is there much we can do grounded on Earth with the limited options we have. Even if we see an asteroid in time to launch some nuclear missiles, the remaining pieces of the asteroid would continue toward Earth, now irradiated. On the other hand, if we were in the IESS, located near the trajectory of the asteroid, we could quickly launch ships to intercept and push the asteroid out of Earth's trajectory or disintegrate it with the latest non-radioactive weapon technology.
We should study and learn as much as we can from ships in space about the magnetosphere that protects us from solar winds and their super-heated particles. There is already more information about the magnetic fields and solar winds than I can summarize here. I recommend reading about it. If we didn't have the strongest magnetosphere of all the rocky planets in our solar system, we would not exist. In summary, the magnetosphere is a vast, comet-shaped bubble that surrounds the Earth and almost protects us completely against solar wind particles by deflecting them away from Earth. Unfortunately, at the north and south poles, funnel-like openings in the magnetic shield allow solar particles to enter. It results in a visible phenomenon known as "Aurora Borealis" or "Northern Lights" in the north and "Aurora Australis" or "Southern Lights" in the south. Solar winds can blast out of the Sun at speeds up to 500 miles per second with temperatures up to 2.9 million degrees Fahrenheit. Our magnetic fields are constantly changing. If they dissipate or weaken too much, the Sun's solar particles will devastate, irradiating all they contact.
Learning Videos:
IESS: Intergalactic Earth Space Station
IESS: Design Development "Birth of an Empire"
Einstein vs Newton: Spacetime vs Gravity & Centrifugal Force
Centrifugal & Centripetal Force
Light, Photons, & Distant Stars "Dead or Alive?"
Aurora Borealis = Northern Lights
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Aurora Australis = Southern Lights