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San Francisco, Feb 18: An asteroid may come uncomfortablyclose to Earth in 2036 and the United Nations should assumeresponsibility for a space mission to deflect it, a group ofastronauts, engineers and scientists said.
Astronomers are monitoring an asteroid named Apophis, which has a 1 in 45,000 chance of striking Earth on April 13, 2036.
Although the odds of an impact by this particular asteroid arelow, a recent congressional mandate for NASA to upgrade its tracking ofnear-Earth asteroids is expected to uncover hundreds, if not thousandsof threatening space rocks in the near future, former astronaut RustySchweickart said.
''It's not just Apophis we're looking at. Every country is atrisk. We need a set of general principles to deal with this issue,''Schweickart, a member of the Apollo 9 crew that orbited the moon inMarch 1969, told an American Association for the Advancement of Scienceconference in San Francisco.
Schweickart plans to present an update next week to the UNCommittee on Peaceful Uses of Outer Space on plans to develop ablueprint for a global response to an asteroid threat.
The Association of Space Explorers, a group of former astronautsand cosmonauts, intends to host a series of high-level workshops thisyear to flesh out the plan and will make a formal proposal to the UN in2009, he said.
Schweickart wants to see the United Nations adopt procedures forassessing asteroid threats and deciding if and when to take action.
The favoured approach to dealing with a potentially deadly spacerock is to dispatch a spacecraft that would use gravity to alter theasteroid's course so it no longer threatens Earth, said astronaut EdLu, a veteran of the International Space Station.
The so-called Gravity Tractor could maintain a position near thethreatening asteroid, exerting a gentle tug that, over time, woulddeflect the asteroid.
An asteroid the size of Apophis, which is about 460 feet long, would take about 12 days of gravity-tugging, Lu added.
Mission costs are estimated at 300 million dollar.
Launching an asteroid deflection mission early would reduce theamount of energy needed to alter its course and increase the chances ofa successful outcome, Schweickart said.
NASA says the precise effect of a 460-foot object hitting theEarth would depend on what the asteroid was made of and the angle ofimpact.
Paul Slovic, president of Oregon-based Decision Research, whichstudies judgment, decision-making and risk analysis, said the asteroidcould take out an entire city or region.
Reuters>
Astronomers are monitoring an asteroid named Apophis, which has a 1 in 45,000 chance of striking Earth on April 13, 2036.
Although the odds of an impact by this particular asteroid arelow, a recent congressional mandate for NASA to upgrade its tracking ofnear-Earth asteroids is expected to uncover hundreds, if not thousandsof threatening space rocks in the near future, former astronaut RustySchweickart said.
''It's not just Apophis we're looking at. Every country is atrisk. We need a set of general principles to deal with this issue,''Schweickart, a member of the Apollo 9 crew that orbited the moon inMarch 1969, told an American Association for the Advancement of Scienceconference in San Francisco.
Schweickart plans to present an update next week to the UNCommittee on Peaceful Uses of Outer Space on plans to develop ablueprint for a global response to an asteroid threat.
The Association of Space Explorers, a group of former astronautsand cosmonauts, intends to host a series of high-level workshops thisyear to flesh out the plan and will make a formal proposal to the UN in2009, he said.
Schweickart wants to see the United Nations adopt procedures forassessing asteroid threats and deciding if and when to take action.
The favoured approach to dealing with a potentially deadly spacerock is to dispatch a spacecraft that would use gravity to alter theasteroid's course so it no longer threatens Earth, said astronaut EdLu, a veteran of the International Space Station.
The so-called Gravity Tractor could maintain a position near thethreatening asteroid, exerting a gentle tug that, over time, woulddeflect the asteroid.
An asteroid the size of Apophis, which is about 460 feet long, would take about 12 days of gravity-tugging, Lu added.
Mission costs are estimated at 300 million dollar.
Launching an asteroid deflection mission early would reduce theamount of energy needed to alter its course and increase the chances ofa successful outcome, Schweickart said.
NASA says the precise effect of a 460-foot object hitting theEarth would depend on what the asteroid was made of and the angle ofimpact.
Paul Slovic, president of Oregon-based Decision Research, whichstudies judgment, decision-making and risk analysis, said the asteroidcould take out an entire city or region.
Reuters>
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