Public Backs Planetary Defense

From: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/americans-back-space-exploration-know-little-about-proposed-policy-changes-everett-group-space-poll-finds-91154014.html
Americans Back Space Exploration, Know Little About Proposed Policy Changes, Everett Group 'Space Poll' Finds
CROFTON, Md., April 17 /PRNewswire/ -- As Pres. Barack Obama vows continued commitment to space exploration, including increased funding to explore the solar system and the ultimate goal of landing astronauts on Mars, he finds support from many Americans.
Most Americans have a positive image of NASA, the country's space agency, and one-third say it's very important to them that the U.S. continue to explore the solar system (with one-third more saying it's somewhat important to them).
Their reasons? Protection of the planet, according to the national scientific survey's findings. Among those who think it's important to explore space, 63 percent cited protecting the Earth from collisions with comets and asteroids, and 57 percent said understanding climate change were important reasons for the U.S. to continue exploring space. Not on many people's list: Finding extraterrestrial life, cited by only 18 percent.
Those are some of the findings from an independent "space poll," a landline and cell phone survey of 1,200 randomly-selected adults fielded nationwide between Mar. 27 and Apr. 12, just before Pres. Obama's Thursday speech on space policy. The poll's findings have a maximum margin of sampling error of 3.7 percentage points, plus or minus.
The Everett Group, an opinion and market research company headquartered near Washington, DC, found that, in the days before Obama's speech, many Americans were not familiar with the proposed changes in space policy. Two-thirds said they were either slightly or not at all familiar, while only one in 10 said they were very familiar with the issue.
Obama's Kennedy Space Center speech in Florida came on the heels of bipartisan concern about jobs and national status that would be lost if NASA's "Constellation" program were to be scrapped. Americans' main concerns about proposed changes in NASA's direction included job losses and threats to national security (both at 54 percent), but even more (63 percent) had major concern the changes would cause a loss of inspiration for America's youth to study science and math, according to the poll.
Obama's space policy counts on "commercial space entrepreneurs" to be able eventually to launch humans into Earth orbit – a feat one-third of Americans think already is being done today.
Government spending continues to be an issue for many. "Americans are split right down the middle on which should be a bigger priority for the government -- reducing the deficit or maintaining America's space leadership," said Steve Everett, Principal of The Everett Group. "Forty-five percent said cut spending on the space program to reduce the deficit, while 47 percent said increase the space budget to maintain U.S. leadership.
A summary report of the study findings is posted on the Everett Group's "Space Poll" Web site (www.spacepoll.com).  For more information about this or other Everett Group studies, contact Steve Everett (301-261-6448, see@everettgroup.com).

SOURCE The Everett Group


To download your own copy of the results summary, please use one of the links below:
 http://www.everettgroup.com/survey2-09/summary.htm
PDF version
Microsoft PowerPoint version
http://www.everettgroup.com/survey2-09/pilotsummary.pdf

More information on Obama Space Plan

http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=33884
On Thursday, April 15, at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the President will outline a bold strategy for human spaceflight that increases the NASA budget by $6 billion over the next five years. His plan represents an ambitious effort to foster the development of path-breaking technologies; increase the number, scope, and pace of manned and unmanned space missions; make human spaceflight safer and more efficient; and help create thousands of jobs. 

The President will lay out the goals and strategies in this new vision for NASA, including a sequence of deep-space destinations matched to growing capabilities, progressing step-by-step until we are able to reach Mars. He will provide new information about specific elements of the plan, including proceeding with a scaled- down variant of the Orion space-capsule technology developed in the Constellation program (to support crew escape requirements on theInternational Space Station) and setting a decision date for moving from research to development and production of a heavy-lift launch vehicle. In addition, he will speak to the new technologies, new jobs, and new industries this approach will create along the way. 

This new strategy means more money for NASA, more jobs for the country, more astronaut time in space, and more investments in innovation. It will result in a longer operating lifetime for the International Space Station, new launch capabilities becoming available sooner, and a fundamentally more ambitious space strategy to take us to an increased number of destinations and to new frontiers in space. By undertaking this strategy, we will no longer rely on our past achievements, and instead embrace a new and bold course of innovation and discovery.

This new plan:

• Advances America's commitment to human spaceflight and exploration of the solar system, with a bold new vision and timetable for reaching new frontiers deeper in space.
• Increases NASA's budget by $6 billion over 5 years.
• Leads to more than 2,500 additional jobs in Florida's Kennedy Space Center area by 2012, as compared to the prior path.
• Begins major work on building a new heavy lift rocket sooner, with a commitment to decide in 2015 on the specific heavy-lift rocket that will take us deeper into space.
• Initiates a vigorous new technology development and test program to increase the capabilities and reduce the cost of future exploration activities.
• Launches a steady stream of precursor robotic exploration missions to scout locations and demonstrate technologies to increase the safety and capability of future human missions, while also providing scientific dividends.
• Restructures Constellation and directs NASA to develop the Orion crew capsule effort in order to provide stand-by emergency escape capabilities for the Space Station - thereby reducing our reliance on foreign providers.
• Establishes the technological foundation for future crew spacecraft needed for missions beyond low Earth orbit.
• Increases the number of astronaut days in space by 3,500 over the next decade, extends the life of the International Space Station, likely beyond 2020, and enables the launching of astronauts on new vehicles from the Kennedy Space Center 1- 2 years sooner.
• Jumpstarts a new commercial space transportation industry to provide safe and efficient crew and cargo transportation to the Space Station, projected to create over 10,000 jobs nationally over the next five years.
• Invests in Florida, adding $3 billion more for the Kennedy Space Center to manage - a 60 percent increase.
• Makes strategic investments to develop critical knowledge, technologies, and capabilities to expand long-duration human exploration into deep space in a more efficient and safe manner, thus getting us to more destinations in deep space sooner.
• And puts the space program on a more ambitious trajectory that pushes the frontiers of innovation to propel us on a new journey of innovation and discovery deeper into space.

Specific New Elements of the President's Plan:

Outlining A Bold New Vision for Reaching New Frontiers in Space: Building on the announcement of a new heavy-lift rocket decision date and the restructuring of Orion, the President will outline a broad vision and timetable for unlocking our ambitions and expanding our frontiers in space, until ultimately we can meet the challenge of sending humans to Mars.

The President's vision for NASA space exploration enables:

• a set of stepping-stone achievements in space that will take us further and faster into space, allowing us to reach a range of destinations including lunar orbit, Lagrange points, near-Earth asteroids, and the moons of Mars, and eventually Mars itself. This sequence of missions will begin with a set of crewed flights to prove the capabilities required for exploration beyond low Earth orbit. After these initial missions, our long-duration human spaceflight technologies will enable human explorers to conduct the first-ever crewed mission into deep space to an asteroid, thereby achieving an historical first; venture into deep space locations such as the Lagrange points (potential sites of fuel depots that would enable more capable future missions to the Moon, Mars, and other destinations); and then send humans to orbit Mars and return them safely to Earth.
• increasing investments in ground-breaking technologies that will allow astronauts to reach space faster and more often, to travel further distances for less cost, and to stay in space for longer periods of time
• systematically tackling the hard problems of space exploration - from protecting our astronauts from radiation to developing advanced in-space propulsion -- so that we can push the boundaries not only of where we can go in space but also what we can do there to improve our lives here on Earth

Developing a Heavy Lift Rocket, with a Specific Decision in 2015, to Expand Our Reach in Space:

To demonstrate a concrete timetable and commitment for expanding human exploration further, the President is announcing that, in addition to investing in transformative heavy-lift technologies, he will commit to making a specific decision in 2015 on the development of a new heavy-lift rocket architecture. This new rocket would eventually lift future deep-space spacecraft to enable humans to expand our reach toward Mars and the rest of the Solar System. This new rocket would take advantage of the new technology investments proposed in the budget - primarily a $3.1 billion investment over five years on heavy-lift R&D. This propulsion R&D effort will include development of a U.S. first-stage hydrocarbon engine for potential use in future heavy lift (and other) launch systems, as well as basic research in areas such as new propellants, advanced propulsion materials manufacturing techniques, combustion processes, and engine health monitoring, all of which are expected to shorten the development time for any future heavy-lift rocket. The new rocket also will benefit from the budget's proposed R&D on other breakthrough technologies in our new strategy for human exploration (such as in- space refueling), which should make possible a more cost-effective and optimized heavy lift capability as part of future exploration architectures. A decision in 2015 means that major work on building a new heavy lift rocket will likely begin two years sooner than under the troubled Constellation program.

Restructuring the Orion Crew Capsule:

Our goal is to take advantage of the best work undertaken in the Constellation program. The President is announcing that NASA will restructure the Orion crew exploration vehicle program to a simpler and more efficient design that will be focused on crew emergency escape from the International Space Station. Under the Constellation program, the Orion crew capsule was intended to house astronauts during their travel to the International Space Station and later missions to the Moon. It also was to be capable of docking at the Space Station for six months and returning crews to the Earth. As part of the President's new plan for NASA, the development work already performed on this capability will be re-oriented to meet the important safety requirement of providing stand-by emergency escape capabilities for astronauts on the space Station. We will be able to launch this vehicle within the next few years, creating an American crew escape capability that will increase the safety of our crews on the Space Station, reduce our dependence on foreign providers, and simplify requirements for other commercial crew providers. This effort will also help establish a technological foundation for future exploration spacecraft needed for human missions beyond low Earth orbit and will preserve some critical high-tech contractor jobs in Colorado, Texas, and Florida.

Citizen's for Space Based Solar Power Open Letter to OSTP

Here is the clincher: The idea for convening a Space Based Solar Power Conference was the number one idea supported on OpenOSTP, OpenEnergy and OpenNASA!!!


Rob Mahan
Here is my e-mailed comment on the OSTP Open Government Report, released on April 7, 2010:

To: intheopen@ostp.gov

Subject: OSTP Open Government Plan 4/7/2010 Report - Comment... See More

Dear OSTP:

I take exception to the statements about OSTP not receiving "particularly robust participation" and the paragraph on Page 22 of the subject report, which states:

While the input received via Ideascale was helpful, it was not always in a form that would easily translate for implementation. For example, someone suggested that we convene a Space Solar Power Conference. Whatever the merits of the suggestion, the format is too short to allow for any detail or specifics. The brainstorming format—although an excellent way to get new ideas quickly—is not well suited to longer postings. This is why we are working on two flagship initiatives to foster more in-depth forms of citizen participation.

These statements appear to trivialize the concept of Space Base Solar Power, which in my humble opinion, will be the primary source of energy for the entire planet within the next 50 to 100 years. The United States needs to decide which agency is going to take the lead for its development and integration with private industry partners.

Perhaps the reason that participation didn't seem robust was that 27 different agencies with often overlapping charters all ran IdeaScale websites for public comment at the same time ... and didn't do a good job at making the public aware of the window for participation, as the OSTP report states.

The idea for convening a Space Based Solar Power Conference was the number one idea supported on OpenOSTP, OpenEnergy and OpenNASA. Here are the participation statistics for each of these websites:

OpenOSTP: Ideas Posted 30 Comments 34 Votes 217 Users 133

OpenEnergy: Ideas Posted 63 Comments 74 Votes 571 Users 257

OpenNASA: Ideas Posted 420 Comments 868 Votes 8098 Users 1271

To have the idea of convening a Space Based Solar Power Conference come in first out of 513 total ideas posted, with a total of 74 detailed comments, at these threepublic participation websites in a short period of time, with nearly 10,000 total votes cast, indicates that this idea has strong public support and needs to be taken very seriously.

Please take my comments as constructive criticism and as support for the development and deployment of space-based solar power. I honestly believe it is the best solution to the energy crisis we face today. It will be a multi-administration, multi-generation project that needs to be started without further delay.

Best regards,

Rob Mahan
Citizens for Space Based Solar Power

OSTP acknowledges but does not follow up #1 suggestion

Charles Radley, posting on the Solar Power Satellite Facebook group says:

Subject: The results of winning the open gov idea scale in three agencies seems to be a mention in the OSTP O

The results of winning the open gov idea scale in three agencies seems to be a mention in the OSTP Open Gov report "While the input received via Ideascale was helpful, it was not always in a form that would easily translate for implementation. For example, someone suggested that we convene a Space Solar Power Conference. Whatever the merits of the suggestion, the format is too short to allow for any detail or specifics. The brainstorming format—although an excellent way to get new ideas quickly—is not well suited to longer postings. This is why we are working on two flagship initiatives to foster more in-depth forms of citizen participation."

To comment on this Plan, please send e-mail to intheopen@ostp.gov or tweet @whitehouseostp #OPENOSTP

STRATFOR's George Friedman Discusses EADS Space Solar Power

STRATFOR’s founder and CEO discusses the push for space-based energy infrastructure after EADS, Europe’s largest space company, announces plans to launch a test satellite with solar panels.


Also from:  http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/science/Lasers-to-beam-solar-energy-from-space-to-earth/articleshow/5496009.cms

Lasers to beam solar energy from space to earth

ANI, Jan 25, 2010, 12.00am IST
LONDON: Space engineers plan to put satellites into orbit that can collect large amounts of energy from the Sun and convert it into a infrared laser beam transmitted back to Earth as an alternative to the planet’s fast-disappearing energy sources. 

Experts at EADS Astrium, Europe’s largest space company, are working on a small demonstrator of a full sized space-based power station, a network of which could meet demands of electricity 24X7. 

“There is a global need for increased energy generation that does not have an environmental impact,” the British newspaper Daily Telegraph quoted Matthew Perren, head of innovation at Astrium’s headquarters in Paris, as saying. 

“The real advantage of space solar power is that it can provide power on demand as we can essentially point the laser beam where ever we like on the earth below the orbit. 

“Looking to the future we envisage large power stations in space that are capable of transmitting energy to any point in the planet on demand,” Perren added.

NASA Advisory Council Ad-Hoc Task Force on Planetary Defense Meeting 15-16 April 2010

From: http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=33790
[Federal Register: March 30, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 60)] [Notices] [Page 15742-15743] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr30mr10-116]

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

[Notice: (10-035)]

NASA Advisory Council; Ad-Hoc Task Force on Planetary Defense; Meeting

AGENCY: National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

ACTION: Notice of meeting.

SUMMARY: In accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act, Public Law 92-463, as amended, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration announces a meeting of the Ad-Hoc Task Force on Planetary Defense of the NASA Advisory Council.

DATES: Thursday, April 15, 2010, 11:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m., and Friday, April 16, 2010, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. (times are EDT).

ADDRESSES: Boston Marriott Cambridge Hotel; Two Cambridge Center, 50 Broadway; Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142; (617) 494-6600.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Jane Parham, Exploration Systems Mission Directorate, National Aeronautics and Space Administration Headquarters, Washington, DC 20546, 202/358-1715; jane.parham@nasa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The agenda topics for the meeting will include:

• Ad-Hoc Task Force on Planetary Defense Terms of Reference.
• NASA Near Earth Object (NEO) Program Status.
• Viewpoints of various scientific organizations on NEO activities.
• Ad-Hoc Task Force Planning.

The meeting will be open to the public up to the seating capacity of the room. It is imperative that the meeting be held on this date to accommodate the scheduling priorities of the key participants. Visitors will need to sign in and show a valid government-issued picture identification such as driver's license or passport. For questions, please call Ms. Jane Parham, at (202) 358-1715.

Dated: March 25, 2010. P. Diane Rausch, Advisory Committee Management Officer, National Aeronautics and Space Administration. [FR Doc. 2010-7124 Filed 3-29-10; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7510-13-P

DEFENDING PLANET EARTH: SPECIAL PUBLICATION DETAILS ASTEROID, COMET THREAT

From: http://secureworldfoundation.blogspot.com/2010/03/defending-planet-earth-special.html

A partnership between Secure World Foundation and The Planetary Society has created a special publication devoted to “Defending Our World” – an impressive look at the threat to Earth from asteroids and comets.

This special issue of The Planetary Report has been produced by The Planetary Society and focuses on planetary defense, containing key articles, such as:

-- Protecting the Earth: Whose Job Is It?
-- To Move an Asteroid
-- Turning Cosmic Disaster Into Opportunity
-- We Make It Happen! Doing Our Part to Protect Earth

Phil Smith, Communications Director for the Secure World Foundation (SWF) explained: "Potentially hazardous asteroids are obviously threats we need to address. But they also present opportunities for innovations in policy and engineering. This issue of The Planetary Report highlights the nature of these asteroids, how we might be able to prevent them from impacting Earth, and how we might, in fact, use those objects that do not present an immediate threat."

As stated by Charlene Anderson, editor of The Planetary Report, “They have the potential to destroy civilization, and they whiz past our planet with alarming regularity. Sometimes we see them coming, and sometimes we don’t. They are generically known as near-Earth objects (NEOs), commonly called asteroids and comets, and they pose a natural threat greater than any faced by our species in history. Fortunately for us, it’s a threat we can do something about.”

To access this special issue on NEOs and planetary defense, go here.

Planetary Defense – Who Will Save Earth? – Neo’s – the Cosmic Threat to Civilization’s Survival – What are Your Odds of Dying From an Asteroid Impact?

From: http://www.o-green.org/archives/1200

Planetary Defense – Who Will Save Earth? – Neo’s – the Cosmic Threat to Civilization’s Survival – What are Your Odds of Dying From an Asteroid Impact?

What would happen if something the size of a mountain, flying at 26 000 miles per hour (41 843 kilometers per hour), hit the Earth? Do our Governments have a plan in place to protect us from such a calamitous event? Judging by the administration’s sluggish response both before and after Hurricane Katrina the likely answer is ‘No’.

We live in a busy Solar System with lots of moving parts. Many of those parts consist of stony-iron materials known as asteroids and many of these rocky bodies have yet to be discovered and could impact with Earth at any time.

There are also many icy bodies, known as Comets. They live out past the orbits of Neptune. Any stirring of their orbits, perhaps nudged by gravitational forces of nearby stars can change their trajectories for a visit into the inner Solar System putting them on a potential collision course with Earth, also at any time.

Scientists Study Recent Developments

In January 2008 there was some news that an asteroid, known as 2007 WD5, might hit Mars. The resulting impact was projected to be similar in size to Meteor Crater, an impact crater a mile-wide in Arizona, formed in a flash of white light and fireball, when an asteroid struck there 50 000 years ago.

Around the same time, another asteroid known as 2007 TU 24 was discovered in November 2007 by the Catalina Sky Survey on October 11, 2007. Calculations determined it would pass near the Earth, on January 29, 2008, just outside the orbit of the Moon, which is considered very close in astronomical terms.

2007 TU 24 is between 150 and 600 meters in diameter. The average interval between actual Earth impacts for an object this size is estimated to be about 37 000 years. Radar Observations of 2007 TU 24 were made at the Goldstone, California in late January and early February. This will permit later 3D shape reconstruction.

In July 1994, twenty-one fragments of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 smashed into Jupiter, leaving black and brown blotches on the planet for over a year, each blotch itself, the size of Earth. Astronomers have yet to witness an asteroid impact with another planet.

Therefore the opportunity to witness the 2007 WD5 impact on Mars was exciting to astronomers and scientists who wanted to make measurements of these types of objects as well as calculations and impact scenarios of what might happen should an asteroid, or a comet, impact with the Earth.

The Mars impact never took place as the asteroid cruised by without incident; a disappointment to astronomers who lost an opportunity to observe the direct effects of an asteroid impact on a planet similar to Earth.

Luckily for us though, the asteroid 2007 TU 24 also missed Earth. I couldn’t help wondering how we would actually have responded if the scientists had told us that the Earth-bound asteroid was headed directly for us and that, according to their calculations there was no way it was going to miss us!

How Worried Should We Be?

One of the main problems we have right now is the lack of an effective response. Even if we knew that an asteroid or comet was headed straight for us, and even if we had plenty of warning ahead of time, what would we do? Once we detect them we still have to figure out some way to safely and reliably destroy or deflect them. To date, such methods do not exist in practicum, only in theory. No missions to prove the ability to move or destroy an asteroid or comet have ever been undertaken by any country.

If an asteroid were to hit Earth, impact would likely be in the oceans as Earth is over 70% water. The effects of such an impact could include Tsunamis, which would be devastating to small Island nations and coastlines on the main land on both sides of the ocean, or could be as devastating as planet-wide environmental collapse if the projectile is large enough to punch through the ocean floor.

An asteroid could also hit land, including cities, again causing anywhere from local to global devastation depending on the size of the impactor. Food chains, transportation, infrastructure could all be leveled with a moderate impact and civilization itself can be jeopardized.

A big impact would jeopardize the survival of the entire planet, not just food chains and civilization, by kicking up tones of dust and soot high into the atmosphere, similar to gigantic volcanic eruptions which would block out the sun and change climate, killing off vegetation as temperatures plummet and no access to solar energy for photosynthesis.

When looking at the Moon, Mercury, Mars and even the Earth itself, we can see the pock-marks that tell the tale of their respective histories. As the Moon and Mercury are not subject to the forces of erosion, their battle-worn landscapes bear the scars of countless impact craters displayed in plain view; harsh reminders of the reality of every planet’s life in the brutal environment of space. These pock-marks should act as a reminder that “It’s not a matter of If an impact will happen, but when!”

According to David Morrison at NASA-AMES in an article he wrote in September 1998, on average a NEO with about 1 million megatons energy (roughly 2 km in diameter) collides with the Earth once or twice per million years, statistically speaking. An impact of this size would kill a substantial proportion of the Earth’s population and have a devastating and lasting effect on Earth’s environment. What such a statistic does not tell you of course is whether the impact will occur one million years from today, or one week from today. What is interesting to note is that the impact that most scientists believe is responsible for causing the extinction of the dinosaurs occurred 65 million years ago. That may well make us long overdue for an extinction-level strike.

Is Anyone Doing Anything About This Situation?

US Military budgets do not include Earth’s protection. The US military does not even have a mission to worry about it. The military agenda of all countries is to defend their respective countries’ interests. To date, NEO’s are not of formal interest to any military. No country or conglomerate of countries has undertaken the task, officially, to protect the Earth from NEOs.

Were an imminent impact to happen, would the government(s) even tell us at all? We have already determined that governments are not prepared to intercede, intercept and save the day. In February 2008 the US Air Force shot down an orbiting US Spy Satellite. The satellite was traveling at near asteroid speeds, at 23 000 miles per hour. Impressive as that was, who would save Earth from an impending impact?

“Space Guardians” around the world are hunting for these potentially hazardous Near Earth Objects. (That term, Space Guardians, was created by myself and based on Sir Arthur C. Clarke’s novel “Rendezvous with Rama” which featured an NEO search program called Space Guard. Sir Arthur C. Clarke very much appreciates that reference.)

The major US-based searches include the most productive sky survey, the Catalina Sky Survey, run by Steve Larson, with searches in both the Northern and Southern hemispheres. The remaining searches are all uniquely located in the Northern hemisphere with money provided by NASA. They include: the US Air Force operated LINEAR program from Lincoln Laboratories, run by Grant Stokes and NEAT (Near Earth Asteroid Tracking) a JPL run operation. Spacewatch is yet another NEO search founded by Tom Gehrels and Robert McMillan and run by Robert McMillan, based near Tucson, Arizona. Finally, the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, has a search called LONEOS (Lowell Observatory Near Earth Object Search) run by Ted Bowell. There are also countless amateur astronomers around the world that help in tracking the known asteroids (sometimes even finding a few new ones themselves).

Is Luck a Sensible Strategy?

We know what will happen. It is inevitable. We’ve witnessed impacts on other worlds. Scientists are convinced that it was a Comet that wiped out the dinosaurs 65 million years ago.

The big impact at Tunguska in 1908 is the latest major event of its kind on Earth. Luckily it exploded over an uninhabited part of Siberia and only one person died as a result. However, the explosion was equal to that at Hiroshima and the trees that were felled for miles around the impact site remain so to this day.

While very few people on Earth consider these very real dangers from Space, thousands of relentless NEO’s traveling silently through the night go on indifferently about their business.

Learn More

Videos

For a thorough understanding of the NEO hazard and what is being done about it, watch the seminal film on this subject, “Planetary Defense”.

“Planetary Defense” speaks with military, scientific and governmental experts about the dangers we currently face and any plans for dealing with NEOs in the future. The film also features eminent science fiction author Sir Arthur C. Clarke and Apollo 9 astronaut, Rusty Schweickart, who will be advising the United Nations about the NEO risk in 2009.

The film runs 48 minutes and has nearly one hour of Bonus Features in the form of two silent slideshows. One slideshow shows a collection of asteroids and comets from NASA, JPL and other sources; the other is dedicated to impact sites here on Earth.

Find out more about the film, Planetary Defense at http://www.SpaceViz.com

Online

For more information about NEO’s visit http://impact.arc.nasa.gov. There you will find comprehensive coverage about NEO’s by David Morrison of NASA-AMES.

A plethora of other material about the NEO hazard can be found online.