PRAGUE, Czech Republic – Astronomers are stepping up the global effort to scan the skies for “near-Earth objects”: asteroids and comets on a potential collision course with the planet and big enough to pack a deadly punch.
The International Astronomical Union said Thursday it has set up a special task force to broaden and sharpen its focus on impact threats.
This is a project we (the US) should be all over. We should be developing the technology to divert or destroy NEOs, right now.
I’m all for manned space exploration, but the ISS, the shuttle program, and even the President’s “back to the moon” program should all take a serious back seat to securing the local neighborhood from this threat.
It doesn’t help that I just finished reading Jack McDevett’s Moonfall.