[meteorite-list] NASA to Look into NEO Threat Response Proposals

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Tue May 16 14:03:06 2006
Message-ID: <200605161801.LAA12319_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

http://space.com/news/060516_nasa_neo.html

NASA to Look into NEO Threat Response Proposals
By Leonard David
16 May 2006

NASA is on the lookout for ways to fend off Earth-threatening Near-Earth
Objects. The space agency has issued a call for papers May 15 that,
among a range of topics, would help sort out possible alternatives to
divert an object if found to be on a likely collision course with Earth.

A U.S. Congress go-ahead on the matter is tied to the NASA Authorization
Act of 2005 passed by Congress late last year, and subsequently signed
by the President.

"The U.S. Congress has declared that the general welfare and security of
the United States require that the unique competence of NASA be directed
to detecting, tracking, cataloguing, and characterizing near-Earth
asteroids and comets in order to provide warning and mitigation of the
potential hazard of such near-Earth objects to the Earth," the Act states.

The Act directs the NASA Administrator to plan, develop, and implement a
Near-Earth Object Survey program to detect, track, catalogue, and
characterize the physical characteristics of near-Earth objects (NEOs)
equal to or greater than 460 feet (140 meters) in diameter in order to
assess the threat of such near-Earth objects to the Earth.

Engaging the experts

NASA's call for papers and selection of best ideas will lead to a NEO
Detection, Characterization and Threat Mitigation workshop, to be held
in a few months time. This workshop is being organized in support of
NASA's Office of Program Analysis & Evaluation study in response to the
congressional direction.

The four-day workshop is to engage experts from the NEO scientific and
technical communities to identify the fullest possible set of
alternatives for meeting congressional direction. Three focus areas of
the workshop are:

    * Detection, Tracking and Cataloging NEOs
    * Characterization of NEOs, and
    * Deflection or other forms of NEO Threat Mitigation

An objective of the workshop is to wrestle with a number of issues, such
as what are current U.S. and international capabilities to discover and
track NEOs? How does warning time vary with object size for an object on
a likely collision course?

Additionally, the workshop would delve into possible need for
space-based systems - do they provide advantages over ground-based
detection and tracking systems? Furthermore, can amateur or other
astronomers assist with discovery and tracking? How can they be
encouraged to do so - perhaps using cash awards for spotting new objects?

Deflection options

In the area of deflection and threat Mitigation of NEOs, the workshop
would scope out key options.

For one, what is the ability of a proposed concept to characterize,
either remotely or on-the-spot, a NEO for factors related to mitigation,
including the size, composition and structure? Also, how best to
mitigate the impact effects of a Near-Earth Object found to be on a
likely collision course with Earth during a determined time period in
the future?

NASA's call for ideas in abstract submission form is open until May 26.
Those selected will be required to submit a full white paper by June 25.
The workshop location and dates are yet to be determined, but penciled
in for the late June-July time frame.
Received on Tue 16 May 2006 02:01:00 PM PDT