Author: National Science and Technology Council (U.S.). Interagency Working Group for Detecting and Mitigating the Impact of Earth-Bound Near-Earth Objects
NEO impacts pose a significant and complex risk to both human life and critical infrastructure, and have the potential to cause substantial and possibly even unparalleled economic and environmental harm. This Strategy and Action Plan provides a road map for a collaborative and federally coordinated approach to developing effective technologies, policies, practices, and procedures for decreasing U.S. and global vulnerability to NEO impacts. When implemented, the activities outlined herein will improve detection, research, mission planning, emergency preparedness and response, and domestic and international engagement. Implementing the NEO Action Plan will increase the United States’ ability and readiness, together with domestic and international partners, to mitigate the impact hazard posed by NEOs.
This June 2018 report was issued by the Interagency Working Group for Detecting and Mitigating the Impact of Earth-Bound Near-Earth Objects (NEO) and has been professionally converted for accurate flowing-text e-book format reproduction. In addition to the report, this compilation reproduction includes the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Aeronautics and Space Report of the President Fiscal Year 2016 activities. Contents: Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate * Science Mission Directorate * Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate * Space Technology Mission Directorate * Department of Defense * Federal Aviation Administration * Department of Commerce * Department of the Interior * Federal Communications Commission * U S Department of Agriculture * National Science Foundation * Department of State * Department of Energy * Smithsonian InstitutionThe National Near-Earth Object Preparedness Strategy and Action Plan (Strategy and Action Plan) will improve our Nation's preparedness to address the hazard of near-Earth object (NEO) impacts over the next 10 years. Its primary role is to help organize and coordinate NEO-related efforts within Federal Departments and Agencies (agencies), with a particular focus on efforts that are already existing and resourced. It seeks to leverage and enhance existing assets and capabilities--National and international, public and private--to effectively manage the risks associated with NEOs. The Strategy and Action Plan builds on efforts by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and Department of Energy (DOE) to detect and characterize the NEO population and to prevent and respond to NEO impacts on Earth.Five strategic goals, each supported by a set of strategic objectives and specific associated actions, underpin the effort to enhance the Nation's preparedness for potential NEO impacts:Goal 1: Enhance NEO Detection, Tracking, and Characterization Capabilities: NASA will lead the development of a roadmap for improving national capabilities for NEO detection, tracking, and characterization. Supporting actions will reduce current levels of uncertainty and aid in more accurate modeling and more effective decision-making.Goal 2: Improve NEO Modeling, Prediction, and Information Integration: Agencies will coordinate the development of validated modeling tools and simulation capabilities that aid in characterizing and mitigating NEO impact risks while streamlining data flows to support effective decision-making.Goal 3: Develop Technologies for NEO Deflection and Disruption Missions: NASA will lead development of technologies for fast-response NEO reconnaissance missions and timely missions to deflect or disrupt hazardous NEOs. Developing these technologies before an imminent threat arises will strengthen our ability to prevent NEO impact disasters.Goal 4: Increase International Cooperation on NEO Preparation: Agencies will work to inform and develop international support for addressing global NEO impact risks. International engagement and cooperation will help the Nation to prepare more effectively for a potential NEO impact.Goal 5: Strengthen and Routinely Exercise NEO Impact Emergency Procedures and Action Protocols
Planetary defense from near-Earth objects such as asteroids is a far more nuanced and challenging topic than it might seem. Each day, technology is making it easier to detect asteroid impact threats in advance, but at present, there is still no easy way to design and implement any form of global defense. This book examines how various asteroid deflection methods can change global political affairs. The authors believe that the final policy for potential Earth impacts should be based on practical engineering solutions and innovative architectural structures, while at the same time reflecting the most recent political science contributions in ethical security studies and security cosmopolitanism. Their focus is not limited to effective engineering solutions, but rather extends to how such proposals resonate in possible political structures of the future. Planetary defense cannot be achieved with technology alone; the chapters in this volume highlight the issues that arise when space science and technology intersect with political science. This complex interdisciplinary project not only demands global participation and collaboration, but also proposes the way we can achieve it. The authors explore various concepts of governance and their far-reaching implications for planetary defense and vice versa—how scientific progress in Solar System observations and asteroid collision engineering influence political science and put pressure on the international legal framework. The text is intentionally written for a diverse scholarly and diplomatic audience in a style accessible to non-specialists and practitioners and can be read by those across diverse disciplinary backgrounds.
The United States spends approximately $4 million each year searching for near-Earth objects (NEOs). The objective is to detect those that may collide with Earth. The majority of this funding supports the operation of several observatories that scan the sky searching for NEOs. This, however, is insufficient in detecting the majority of NEOs that may present a tangible threat to humanity. A significantly smaller amount of funding supports ways to protect the Earth from such a potential collision or "mitigation." In 2005, a Congressional mandate called for NASA to detect 90 percent of NEOs with diameters of 140 meters of greater by 2020. Defending Planet Earth: Near-Earth Object Surveys and Hazard Mitigation Strategies identifies the need for detection of objects as small as 30 to 50 meters as these can be highly destructive. The book explores four main types of mitigation including civil defense, "slow push" or "pull" methods, kinetic impactors and nuclear explosions. It also asserts that responding effectively to hazards posed by NEOs requires national and international cooperation. Defending Planet Earth: Near-Earth Object Surveys and Hazard Mitigation Strategies is a useful guide for scientists, astronomers, policy makers and engineers.
There are many natural disasters that humanity has to deal with over time. These include earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, floods, asteroid strikes, and so on. Some of these disasters occur slowly enough that some advance warning is possible for affected areas. In this case, the response is to evacuate the affected area and deal wilh the damage later. The Katrina and Rita hurricane evacuations on the U.S. Gulf Coasl in 2005 demonstrated the chaos that can result from such a response. In contrast with other natural disasters, it is likely that an asteroid or comet nucleus on a collision course with Earth will be detected with enough warning time to possibly deflect it away. Thanks to Near-Earth Object (NED) surveys, people are working towards a goal of cataloging at least 90% of all near-Earth objects with diameters larger than ≈ 140 meters in the next fifteen years. The important question then, is how to mitigate the threat from an asteroid or comet nucleus found to be on a collision course with Earth. In this paper. we briefly review some possible deflection methods, describe their good and bad points, and then embark on a more detailed description of using nuclear munitions in a standoff mode to deflect the asteroid or comet nucleus before it can hit Earth.
There are many natural disasters that humanity has to deal with over time. These include earthquakes, tsunami, hurricanes, floods, asteroid strikes, and so on. Many of these disasters occur slowly enough that some advance warning of which areas will be affected is possible. However, in almost all cases, the response is to evacuate the area to be affected and deal with the damage later. The evacuations for hurricanes Katrina and Rita on the US Gulf Coast in 2005 demonstrated the chaos that can result. In contrast with other natural disasters. it is likely that an asteroid or cometary nucleus on a collision course with Earth is likely to be detected with enough warning time to possibly deflect it away from the collision course. Thanks to near-Earth object (NEO) surveys, people are working towards a goal of cataloging at least 90% of all near-Earth objects with diameters larger than (almost equal to)140 meters in the next decade. The question is how to mitigate the threat from an asteroid or cometary nucleus found to be on a collision course. We briefly review some possible methods, describing their good and bad points, and then embark on a more detailed description of using a nuclear munition in standoff mode to deflect an asteroid or cometary nucleus before it can hit Earth.
The Yearbook on Space Policy is the reference publication analysing space policy developments. Each year it presents issues and trends in space policy and the space sector as a whole. Its scope is global and its perspective is European. The Yearbook also links space policy with other policy areas. It highlights specific events and issues, and provides useful insights, data and information on space activities. The Yearbook on Space Policy is edited by the European Space Policy Institute (ESPI) based in Vienna, Austria. It combines in-house research and contributions of members of the European Space Policy Research and Academic Network (ESPRAN), coordinated by ESPI. The Yearbook is designed for government decision-makers and agencies, industry professionals, as well as the service sectors, researchers and scientists and the interested public.
Near-Earth objects (NEOS) : status of the survey program and review of NASA's 2007 report to Congress : hearing before the Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics, Committee on Science and Technology, House of Representatives, One Hundred Tenth Congress, first session, November 8, 2007.
