NASA has announced the creation of the Planetary Defense Coordination Office to detect and track asteroids near Earth. Russia and China could join the effort. The office will be managing all projects funded by NASA in order to monitor asteroids and comets that lurk near the Earth’s orbit.
In Case of Impact Threat, The Agency Has Our Back
The office will also be in communication with the Federal Emergency Management Agency along with other US federal authorities. This will ensure that in case there is a real threat, NASA can take action in a timely way.
In a statement, the agency declared that asteroid detection, tracking, and defense is something the agency takes very seriously. At the moment, there are no pressing threats. However, incidents like the 2014 Chelyabinsk super-fireball and the recent Halloween Asteroid keeps the world on its toes. So NASA has designed an office to continuously be on the lookout.
Near-Earth Objects Are Always Around
There have been more than 13,500 NEOs or Near-Earth Objects discovered since 1998. According to NASA data, 1,500 NEOs are detected each year. Many of these objects hit the Earth every day though they fall as grains of sand. Most of these objects are detected with Earth-based telescopes and the Neowise infrared telescope.
New Initiative Will Detect Bigger Asteroids and Comets
Further research is done on these objects at places like the agency’s InfraRed Telescope Facility or the Spitzer Space Telescope or the National Science Foundation. The new Planetary Defense Coordination Office will act as the one-stop for all asteroid and comet-related research. The office will specifically focus on mid-sized and larger objects that are potentially dangerous, 450 feet or bigger.
The goal is to develop technology that can deflect or redirect threatening comets and asteroids. This is also the goal for the agency’s Asteroid Redirect Mission. As part of this mission, NASA is partnering up with the European Space Agency for the Asteroid Impact and Deflection Assessment mission in 2022. This mission will be testing the ability to redirect an object by hitting it with a spacecraft.
Will Russia and China Join NASA and ESA?
NASA and ESA could be joined by Russia and China. There’s plenty of time before 2022. While NASA may fair well from a joint mission with Roscosmos, the agency is currently banned from working with China in space missions. An international collaboration is an ideal scenario, so there could come a time when Russia, China, the European continent and NASA come together to protect the Earth.
