By 
February 4th, 2018
Credit: The Center for Space Policy and Strategy
First the good news: Significant asteroid impacts are, fortunately, few and far between.
However, a major asteroid strike could cause widespread devastation and profoundly affect life on Earth.
At this moment in time, a small group of nations have the expertise and resources needed to protect their territory and the entire planet.
Technical and political risks
But what are the technical and political risks of trying to divert or destroy an asteroid on a collision course with Earth? What are the obligations and strategic interests that would drive a decision to take action?
These questions and other issues are addressed in a new policy paper — Planetary Defense Against Asteroid Strikes: Risks, Options, and Costs – issued last month by The Center for Space Policy and Strategy, a specialized research branch within The Aerospace Corporation.
What are the options, risks, and costs involved in trying to divert or destroy an asteroid on a collision course with Earth?
Nahum Melamed, The Aerospace Corporation, a researcher focused on potentially hazardous object threats.
Credit: The Aerospace Corporation/Elisa Haber
Wanted: advanced planning
A coordinated international response might be more economical, but may require the country to share technology with potential adversaries in space. An independent body could coordinate a global response while safeguarding sensitive technology—but such a body does not currently exist.
Credit: The Center for Space Policy and Strategy
In any case, the authors suggest, advanced planning will be critical to mitigating future asteroid threats. The low probability of a major impact should not diminish a sense of urgency. The best time to start preparing is now—well before any actual threat is detected.
Global response
The paper is authored by Nahum Melamed, The Aerospace Corporation and Avishai Melamed, Univ. of California San Diego. It examines the issue of planetary defense, largely from a U.S. perspective and draws upon a recent exercise by the 2017 Planetary Defense Conference that modeled global response to a hypothetical asteroid threat.
To read this important January 2018 paper, go to:
http://aerospace.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/NEO_Defense.pdf
Posted in Space News
