Planetary Defense

A new report by an advisory group urges NASA to establish an office to focus on developing a planetary defense system to protect Earth from asteroid impacts. The report calls for the office to pursue a systematic approach to the detection of near-Earth objects-- especially those large enough to cause real damage in the event of a collision-- as well as to establish the composition of the objects, determine with precision the orbits of the objects, and develop various ways to deflect any objects that might be threatening.

The group also called for the NASA office to lead an international effort to deal with the threat. Not only does the nature of the threat argue for an international approach, since an asteroid could strike absolutely anywhere, but, given current economic conditions, several nations supporting the modest expenditures necessary would make the amount per nation even more modest, thus, hopefully, making it more likely something will get done.