What are some NASA programs involving NEOs?

Major NEO follow-up and characterization projects in the NEO Observations Program include:

• University of Arizona’s Spacewatch.
• Astronomical Research Institute.
• Las Cumbres Observatory.
• New Mexico Tech’s Magdalena Ridge Observatory.
• Lowell Observatory’s The Mission Accessible Near-Earth Objects Survey (MANOS)

What is the Planetary Defense Coordination Office responsible for?

The PDCO is responsible for providing timely and accurate information to the government, the media, and the public on close approaches to Earth by potentially hazardous objects (PHOs) and any potential for impact.

What current risks are there to Earth from NEOs?

What current risks are there to Earth from NEOs? Near Earth Objects (pieces of asteroids that cross Earth’s orbit) pose risks for Earth. When asteroids are knocked out of orbit, they can shoot into other planets’ orbits or surfaces. There have been times where asteroids have hit Earth’s surface.

What protects us from NEOs?

The Earth’s atmosphere protects us from most NEOs smaller than a modest office building (50 m diameter, or impact energy of about 5 megatons). > From this size up to about 1 km diameter, an impacting NEO can do tremendous damage on a local scale.

What is the job of planetary protection officer entitle?

Planetary Protection Officer In this role, he oversees the responsible exploration of the solar system by implementing and developing efforts that protect the science, explored environments and Earth.

Who protects us from asteroids?

NNSA is one of the Federal agencies with responsibilities for “planetary defense” or detecting and mitigating impact threats from potentially hazardous near-Earth objects, such as asteroids and comets. These efforts are part of an official national security focus for the United States.

When did NASA establish the planetary defense coordination office?

NASA reorganized its Near Earth Object Observations Program and established a Planetary Defense Coordination Office in January 2016 in response to the NASA Office of Inspector General’s 2014 report, “ NASA’s Efforts to Identify Near-Earth Objects and Mitigate Hazards .”

What does PDCO stand for in space category?

The PDCO: Provides early detection of potentially hazardous objects (PHOs) – the subset of NEOs whose orbits predict they will come within 5 million miles of Earth’s orbit; and of a size large enough (30 to 50 meters) to cause significant damage on Earth;

What does the PDCO do for Near Earth objects?

The PDCO sponsors projects through its Near-Earth Object (NEO) Observations Program that employ a variety of ground and space based telescopes to search for NEOs, determine their orbits, and measure their physical characteristics.