It’s time for a real policy on asteroids | The Space Review

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If you think the events of the post-Valentine surprise of the Russian meteor and the 2012 DA14 near-miss are one of a kind, think again. “We know there are 500,000 to one million asteroids the size of DA14 or larger. So far we have found fewer than 1% of that ‘cosmic hailstorm’ through which we sail in our yearly orbit around the Sun,” said the Association of Space Explorers in their recent statement. We are tracking fewer than 10,000 of them. Even our pathetically limited Space Situational Awareness of the threat shows that there were a total of 10 close approaches just this month and there are many more near approaches on the way, and currently 1,381 already identified potentially hazardous objects.

 

In 2008, some prescient members of Congress wrote HR 6063, which tasked the Director of the President’s Office of Science and Technology Policy to develop a policy for notifying federal agencies and relevant emergency response institutions of an impending near Earth object threat, if near-term public safety is at stake; and recommend a federal agency or agencies to be responsible for protecting the nation from a near Earth object that is anticipated to collide with Earth and implementing a deflection campaign, in consultation with international bodies, should one be required.

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