NASA Opens Planetary Defense Office to Protect Earth from Asteroids
by Leonard David, Space.com's Space Insider Columnist
January 08, 2016 02:20pm ET
A major step has been taken to coordinate U.S. agencies and
intergovernmental efforts to respond to future near-Earth objects that
threaten Earth.
NASA has announced the creation of a Planetary Defense Coordination
Office (PDCO). Lindley Johnson, NASA's current near-Earth object (NEO)
program executive will lead the newly established office. The PDCO will
reside within NASA's Planetary Science Division, in the agency's Science
Mission Directorate in Washington, D.C.
"The formal establishment of the Planetary Defense Coordination Office
makes it evident that the agency is committed to perform a leadership
role in national and international efforts for the detection of these
natural impact hazards, and to be engaged in planning if there is a need
for planetary defense," Johnson said in a NASA statement.
Planetary defense duties
What will the office do? It will be responsible for:
Supervision of all NASA-funded projects to find and characterize
asteroids and comets that pass near Earth's orbit around the sun;
Lead the coordination of interagency and intergovernmental efforts
to plan response to any potential impact threats.
Improve and expand on past efforts with other U.S. federal agencies
and departments, such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
Continue to assist with the coordination across the U.S.
government, including planning for response to an actual impact threat
and working in conjunction with FEMA, the Department of Defense, other
U.S. agencies, and international counterparts.
Issue notices of close passes and warnings of any detected
potential NEO impacts, based on credible science data.
Collaborative relationship
"FEMA is dedicated to protecting against all hazards, and the launch of
the coordination office will ensure early detection and warning
capability, and will further enhance FEMA's collaborative relationship
with NASA," said FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate in a press statement.
"Even if intervention is not possible, NASA would provide expert input
to FEMA about impact timing, location, and effects to inform emergency
response operations. In turn, FEMA would handle the preparations and
response planning related to the consequences of atmospheric entry or
impact to U.S. communities, NASA explains in its announcement of the new
PDCO.
NASA and FEMA were not the only agencies lauding the new planetary
defense project. The National Science Foundation (NSF) also hailed the
event.
"NSF welcomes the increased visibility afforded to this critical
activity," said Nigel Sharp, program director in the agency's Division
of Astronomical Sciences. "We look forward to continuing the fruitful
collaboration across the agencies to bring all of our resources – both
ground-based and space-based – to the study of this important problem."
Wake-up call
More than 13,500 near-Earth objects of all sizes have been discovered to
date—more than 95 percent of them since NASA-funded surveys began in
1998. About 1,500 NEOs are now detected each year.
One recent event that some experts have dubbed a a 21st century wake-up
call was the Chelyabinsk meteor explosion over Russia in 2013 . That
event cast a new spotlight on the potential dangers from the heavens and
helped prod international resolve to deal with NEOs in an organized manner.
For its part, NASA's long-term planetary defense goals include
developing technology and techniques for deflecting or redirecting
objects that are determined to be on an impact course with Earth.
Reduce the risk
The recently passed federal budget for fiscal year 2016 includes $50
million for NEO observations and planetary defense, representing a more
than ten-fold increase since the beginning of the President Obama
administration.
Indeed, within the White House National Space Policy released on June
28, 2010, it notes under "Civil Space Guidelines" that the Administrator
of NASA shall: "Pursue capabilities, in cooperation with other
departments, agencies, and commercial partners, to detect, track,
catalog, and characterize near-Earth objects to reduce the risk of harm
to humans from an unexpected impact on our planet and to identify
potentially resource-rich planetary objects."
For more information on NASA's Planetary Defense Coordination Office,
this website is to be updated with additional details:
https://www.nasa.gov/planetarydefense.
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Duane Whittingham - N9SSN
(ARES/RACES, EmComm, Skywarn & Red Cross)
http://www.radiodude.info
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