NASA Office to Coordinate Asteroid Detection, Hazard Mitigation
NASA has formalized its ongoing program for detecting and tracking near-Earth objects.
NASA has formalized  its ongoing program for detecting and tracking near-Earth objects (NEOs) as the  Planetary Defense Coordination Office (PDCO). The office remains within NASA's  Planetary Science Division, in the agency's Science Mission Directorate in  Washington. The office will be responsible for supervision of all NASA-funded projects  to find and characterize asteroids and comets that pass near Earth's orbit  around the sun. It will also take a leading role in coordinating interagency  and intergovernmental efforts in response to any potential impact threats.More than  13,500 near-Earth objects of all sizes have been discovered to date -- more  than 95 percent of them since NASA-funded surveys began in 1998. About 1,500  NEOs are now detected each year."Asteroid  detection, tracking and defense of our planet is something that NASA, its  interagency partners, and the global community take very seriously," said  John Grunsfeld, associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in  Washington. "While there are no known impact threats at this time, the 2013  Chelyabinsk super-fireball and the recent 'Halloween Asteroid' close approach remind  us of why we need to remain vigilant and keep our eyes to the sky."NASA has  been engaged in worldwide planning for planetary defense for some time, and this  office will improve and expand on those efforts, working with the Federal  Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and other federal agencies and departments.In  addition to detecting and tracking potentially hazardous objects, the office will  issue notices of close passes and warnings of any detected potential impacts,  based on credible science data. The office also will continue to assist with  coordination across the U.S. government, participating in the planning for  response to an actual impact threat, working in conjunction with FEMA, the  Department of Defense, other U.S. agencies and international counterparts."The  formal establishment of the Planetary Defense Coordination Office makes it evident  that the agency is committed to perform a leadership role in national and  international efforts for detection of these natural impact hazards, and to be  engaged in planning if there is a need for planetary defense," said Lindley  Johnson, longtime NEO program executive and now lead program executive for the  office, with the title of Planetary Defense Officer.Astronomers  detect near-Earth objects using ground-based telescopes around the world as  well as NASA's space-basedNEOWISEinfrared telescope.  Tracking data are provided to a global database maintained by theMinor Planet Center, sanctioned by the  International Astronomical Union. Once detected, orbits are precisely predicted  and monitored by theCenter for NEO Studies(CNEOS) at NASA's Jet  Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. Select NEOs are further  characterized by assets such as NASA's InfraRed Telescope Facility, Spitzer  Space Telescope and interplanetary radars operated by NASA and the National  Science Foundation. Such efforts are coordinated and funded by NASA's longtime  NEO Observations Program, which will continue as a research program under the  office.The  Planetary Defense Coordination Office is being applauded by the National  Science Foundation (NSF), which supports research and education in science and  engineering. "NSF welcomes the increased visibility afforded to this  critical activity," said Nigel Sharp, program director in the agency's  Division of Astronomical Sciences. "We look forward to continuing the  fruitful collaboration across the agencies to bring all of our resources --  both ground-based and space-based -- to the study of this important problem."With more  than 90 percent of NEOs larger than 3,000 feet (1 kilometer) already  discovered, NASA is now focused on finding objects that are slightly bigger  than a football field -- 450 feet (140 meters) or larger. In 2005, NASA was  tasked with finding 90 percent of this class of NEOs by the end of 2020.  NASA-funded surveys have detected an estimated 25 percent of these mid-sized  but still potentially hazardous objects to date.NASA's long-term planetary defense goals  include developing technology and techniques for deflecting or redirecting  objects that are determined to be on an impact course with Earth. NASA'sAsteroid Redirect Missionconcept would demonstrate  the effectiveness of the gravity tractor method of planetary defense, using the  mass of another object to pull an asteroid slightly from its original orbital  path. The joint NASA-European Space AgencyAsteroid Impact and Deflection  Assessment (AIDA)mission concept, if pursued, would  demonstrate an impact deflection method of planetary defense.Even if intervention is not possible, NASA would  provide expert input to FEMA about impact timing, location and effects to  inform emergency response operations. In turn, FEMA would handle the  preparations and response planning related to the consequences of atmospheric  entry or impact to U.S. communities."FEMA is dedicated to protecting against  all hazards, and the launch of the coordination office will ensure early  detection and warning capability, and will further enhance FEMA's collaborative  relationship with NASA," said FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate.The concept of a central office to coordinate asteroid detection and mitigation has  been under consideration since 2010, when an Ad-Hoc Task Force on Planetary  Defense of the NASA Advisory Council recommended that NASA "organize for  effective action on planetary defense and prepare to respond to impact threats,"  and should "lead U.S. planetary defense efforts in national and  international forums." In addition, a NASA Office of Inspector General  2014 report concluded that the NEO Observations Program would be more "efficient,  effective and transparent" if it were organized and managed in accordance  with standard NASA research program requirements.The NEO  Observations Program operated on a budget of $4 million as recently as fiscal  year 2010. That same year, the President announced a new goal for NASA -- a  human mission to an asteroid. The President's fiscal year 2012 budget included,  and Congress appropriated, $20.4 million for an expanded NASA NEO Observations  Program. The agency'sAsteroid Grand  Challengeto find all asteroid threats also launched in 2012. Funding for the NEO program  doubled to $40 million in 2014, which increased the rate of detection of new  NEOs by 40 percent and jump-started research into potential asteroid deflection  techniques.In 2015, NASA's NEO Observations Program supported 54 ongoing projects, including  detection and tracking campaigns, asteroid characterization efforts and radar  projects. Nine studies were funded to explore techniques for impact  mitigation.The recently passed federal budget for fiscal year 2016 includes $50 million for NEO observations  and planetary defense, representing a more than ten-fold increase since the  beginning of the current administration.For  regular updates on passing asteroids, NASA has anasteroid widgetthat lists the next  five close approaches to Earth; it links to theCNEOS websitewith a complete list of recent and upcoming close  approaches, as well as all other data on the orbits of known NEOs, so  scientists and members of the media and public can track information on known  objects.For more information on NASA's Planetary  Defense Coordination Office, visit:http://www.nasa.gov/planetarydefense