NASA has presented a new vision with which it seeks to more accurately and quickly identify asteroids or comets that are heading towards Earth and that are potentially dangerous.
There is a large body of evidence showing that asteroids and other objects from outer space They are a latent danger to humanity. If any of these large rocks collide with Earth, there will be catastrophic consequences.
So far, there is no precise data that reveals when our planet will face an imminent attack from space. It is practically a fact that the impact of an asteroid or comet represents an existential threat.
For this reason, the most important space agencies, such as NASA, have begun working on projects to identify ahead of time when an asteroid is heading towards Earth.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has just released a new planetary defense strategyas well as an action plan with the objective of locating and identifying potentially dangerous objects.
NASA carries out a new mission to identify asteroids
The main goal of NASA’s new mission is to advance efforts to protect Earth from a possible strike from the largest asteroid, the encounter of which could be devastating.
The aim is to study, detect and improve the characterization of near earth objectsa study that has been called neowhich is a complete catalog of all objects that have been identified as potentially dangerous.
Likewise, the United States space agency aims to develop mitigation technologies similar to the Double Asteroid Redirection Test mission, better known as DART.
DART it was the first mission that focused on the world’s planetary defense, and successfully demonstrated a method of deflecting asteroids using a spacecraft in order to collide and deflect the trajectory of the rock.
NASA Planetary Defense Officer Lindley Johnson stated in a statement the following: “An asteroid impact with Earth has the potential for catastrophic devastation, and it’s also the only natural disaster that humanity now has enough technology to fully prevent.”.
The mission NASA Planetary Defense Strategy and Action Plan was published on April 18, 2023, and is associated with another document published on April 3 by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, called National Preparedness Strategy and Action Plan for Near-Earth Object Hazards and Planetary Defense.
The two reports focus on improving detection, characterization, and responses to impact threats. Likewise, it is intended to improve international cooperation to coordinate strategies between government agencies.
International cooperation, another of the objectives of the mission
Another of the mission objectives is to establish a collaboration with other countries, in which those who wish to participate will have to study and mitigate near-Earth objects.
Likewise, it is intended to strengthen inter-institutional coordination between NASA and other United States government agencies, to optimize NEO’s response planning.
Bill Nelson, NASA Administrator, stated the following: “As we saw with the success of the DART mission, NASA is committed to protecting Earth from potentially dangerous asteroids and comets.”.
On the other hand, I also mention: “Planetary defense benefits all of humanity and the strategy and action plan describe how we will continue to protect our planet over the next decade.”.
In short, NEO is a NASA’s new initiative to enhance international cooperation and coordination among government agencies to coordinate responses to impact threats.