Report: NASA Can't Keep Up With Killer Asteroids

[David Zephyr]

Source: AP

WASHINGTON – NASA is charged with seeking out nearly all the asteroids that threaten Earth but doesn't have the money to do the job, a federal report says.

That's because even though Congress assigned the space agency this mission four years ago, it never gave NASA money to build the necessary telescopes, the new National Academy of Sciences report says. Specifically, NASA has been ordered to spot 90 percent of the potentially deadly rocks hurtling through space by 2020.

Even so, NASA says it's completed about one-third of its assignment with its current telescope system.

NASA estimates that there are about 20,000 asteroids and comets in our solar system that are potential threats to Earth. They are larger than 460 feet in diameter — slightly smaller than the Superdome in New Orleans. So far, scientists know where about 6,000 of these objects are.



Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090812/ap_on_sc/us_sci_killer_asteroids

[UndertheOcean]

1. Even if we find them , do we have the technology to do anything about them ?

If we are not even willing to spend the meager amount of money required to find those objects , how can we destroy them, what a joke.

[lapfog_1]

2. If we find one soon enough...

we will do something about it.

If found with enough lead time, we could send a "gravitational tow truck" remote space ship to intercept the rock and, without touching it or blowing it up, use the mass of the space ship to nudge it to a different path.

[GreenPartyVoter]

4. Exactly. And the further out we can find them the less work we need to do to actually

move the object into a new trajectory.

[David Zephyr]

5. That is the current thinking of how best to "move" the rock.

I am a space/science nut. It's great to know that there are other DU'ers who are up on all of this.

Nice knowin' ya.

[lapfog_1]

17. Former 10 year NASA guy, yeah, I'm up on stuff like this.

It was proposed by a couple of astronauts.

[Buns_of_Fire]

9. Aha! A use for Rush Limbaugh!

His mass (1 L.U. - Limbaugh Unit) should be enough to deflect several rocks and maybe even a planet or two.

[lapfog_1]

18. But the supply of oxycontin to an area of deep space

would be problematic, not to mention the hot gas outflows that would have to be directed away from the rock less they push it in the wrong direction.

[Buns_of_Fire]

20. I've no doubt that NASA can design an appropriate LDV.*

* LDV = Limbaugh Delivery Vehicle

I calculate that the space saved by refusing to stock the LDV with bean burritos (to avoid inadvertent and misguided gas expulsions from the intelligent end of his body) can be used, instead, to store sufficient Oxycontin for the Rushbo-1 one-way rendezvous with destiny.

Yes, one-way. Who said anything about bringing him BACK?

[David Zephyr]

23. LDV. It would be worth every dime we spent.

Your name smokes! :)

[Posteritatis]

25. Assuming it wasn't a month's warning or something...

It would be a lot easier than most people think to deal with one.

You don't need to destroy them; that's actually the opposite of what you want to do, since the result is a bunch of less predictable fragments. A one-tonne object flying parallel to one for a few months would probably nudge it enough to miss the planet without even touching it.

[DrDan]

3. perhaps the same folks who were to keep track of the money sent into Iraq

[Rebubula]

6. Personally...

...I do not want to know of an Extinction Level Asteroid is about to hit.

It will cause rioting and lawlessness that would make our last days scary and painful.

Anyway...we always have Bruce Willis.

[edbermac]

7. We'll just have the Enterprise fire a few photon torpedoes.

Problem solved.

[Jim Lane]

14. Wouldn't a tractor beam be more reliable? (n/t) (and no cool image)

[TCJ70]

16. Forget that...

...just eject the core while it's overloading and watch the mayhem!

[bloomington-lib]

8. We'll never know if they do find one

Civilization won't work knowing a catastrophe is coming.

[Psephos]

32. that's a good point n/t

[humus]

10. Rainy Day Women # 12 & 35

Well, they'll stone you when you're trying to be so good
They'll stone you just like they said they would
They'll stone you when you're trying to go home
Then they'll stone you when you're there all alone
But I would not feel so all alone
Everybody must get stoned

Well, they'll stone you when you're walking on the street
They'll stone you when you're trying to keep your seat
They'll stone you when you're walking on the floor
They'll stone you when you're walking through the door
But I would not feel so all alone
Everybody must get stoned

They'll stone you when you're at the breakfast table
They'll stone you when you are 'ung and able
They'll stone you when you're trying to make a buck
They'll stone you and then they'll say good luck
Hey, but I would not feel so all alone
Everybody must get stoned

Well, they'll stone you and say that it's the end
Then they'll stone you and then they'll come back again
They'll stone you when you're riding in your car
They'll stone you when you're playing your guitar
Yes, but I would not feel so all alone
Everybody must get stoned

Well, they'll stone you when you are all alone
They'll stone you when you are walking home
They'll stone you and then say they are brave
They'll stone you when you're set down in your grave
But I would not feel so alone
Everybody must get stoned

[montanto]

12. Everybody must

get stoned.

[conspirator]

11. I hope a small asteroid hits dick cheneys house nt

[caraher]

13. This is what NASA should be spending its money on...

(and yes, I know we waste more in a millisecond in Iraq than we spend in 3 decades of manned spaceflight, etc.)

Putting people in orbiting tin cans for the sake of "exploration" is not a wise investment.

Getting serious about tracking objects that could kill thousands, millions or billions of people, and developing technologies to cope with objects spotted well in advance is.

And while some of those technologies are likely to arise as a "spinoff" of human flight to Mars, that's letting the tail wag the dog. Why not pour the resources into a global insurance policy by making the goal be to develop a capability for deflecting asteroids, and let the improved spaceflight capability allowing a trip by people to Mars be the "spinoff?"

[JackHughes]

15. Is saving ourselves politically viable?

Even gigantic objects can be deflected if they are nudged when they are far enough out -- just a minute angular deflection grows to significance if given enough time.

A real asteroid defense system would require an active deep-space radar, not passive optical telescopes. The hardware for deflection would range from nuclear bombs to spray painting objects to absorb or reflect more sunlight. But detection and deflection hardware must be deployed long before any danger is actually upon us. There is no technology for last-minute "saves" like in the movies.

We have the means at our disposal to prevent our extinction from asteroid impacts. The only question is if we have the will. As the late Kurt Vonnegut quipped: "It's too expensive to save ourselves. It's just not cost-effective."

[Khaotic]

19. What?

You're making too much sense. Quit thinking man, you'll blow up our brains! We still live in times where a deity is given credit for creating everything!!!

Do you think we can grasp your post?!

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh ... I just tried to think about it. My head!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ConcernedCanuk]

21. But the USA has Billions to slaughter innocent people half way across the globe

.
.
.

priorities ya know . . .

[David Zephyr]

24. Priorities. Isn't that the hard truth?

:hi:

[L. Coyote]

27. Ding! Ding! Ding! WE HAVE A WINNER!

[ConcernedCanuk]

30. What did I win? - gonna send me a beer or sumthing??

.
.
.

almost 100 degrees up here

:toast: would be welcome!!

[Poll_Blind]

29. Too true. n/t

PB

[Ersatz Spieler]

22. Wow, just wow

Billions of dollars already committed to keeping the "economy" floating and making sure bankers can still offer seven-figure retention bonuses to keep those closets full of pin stripe suites clean and pressed... but we can't spare $800 million over the next 10 years to potentially save everybody one hell of a pain in the arse that will inevitably be caused by a foreseeable and potentially avoidable space rock plummeting toward our planet?

That's just lame.

[Javaman]

26. Personally, I welcome our new killer asteroid overlords. nt

[The Night Owl]

28. Jesus has a shield of protection around Earth. Everybody knows that.

:sarcasm:

[Lagomorph]

31. A few years ago....

...we didn't even know this stuff was out there. Space was space, vast and mysterious, the oceans were terrible, vast and deep, the weather was God's territory.

I don't think things have changed much, but we're far more eloquent in our ignorance.