NASA inspector blasts space agency's asteroid protection program, needs to be better managed

Looks like NASA needs to work on it's asteroid protection program:

On Monday, the space agency's inspector general released a report blasting NASA's Near Earth Objects program. The program is set up to hunt and catalog comets, asteroids and relatively large fragments of these objects that pass within 28 million miles of Earth. The purpose is to guard against their potential dangers.

In a 44-page report, Inspector General Paul Martin says the NASA program needs to be better managed with a bigger staff. NASA's science mission chief, former astronaut John Grunsfeld, agrees and promises the problems will be fixed.

Link To Article

They were charged with trying to find 90% by the year 2020, and they said that they will not be reaching that goal with how things are currently going.

Personally, I've always thought that THIS should be more of a global priority than say, fighting wars.

Of course that's just my personal opinion.

NASA's science mission chief, former astronaut John Grunsfeld, agrees and promises the problems will be fixed.

I wonder what part of their budget will be transferred in order to fix it.

a reply to: eriktheawful

Lets see now, the Chelyabinsk meteor happened over a year ago and they're only now saying they need to work on protection haha, retarded

a reply to: eriktheawful

Facts must be reckoned with --humans may not have the intelligence to avoid extinction.

It's not that there aren't people that who are smart enough and/or good enough. It's just that collectively, the destroyers far outnumber the creators.

in the terminal phase of human existence, small group of creator "elites" will generate fiat profit from incentivizing the destroyers. Literally, destroying everything for something with no intrinsic value (e.g. fiat money)

That is a terminal feedback loop folks.

a reply to: Zcustosmorum

only now saying they need to work on protection haha, retarded

The Russian meteor was tiny. It came from the direction of the Sun. How do you suppose it could have been detected?


Actually, the program has been in place since 1998. It has cataloged thousands of objects.
neo.jpl.nasa.gov...

originally posted by: Phage

NASA's science mission chief, former astronaut John Grunsfeld, agrees and promises the problems will be fixed.

I wonder what part of their budget will be transferred in order to fix it.

Oh yah! You KNOW it won't be: "We need more money to fix this." with the answer of "Okay, here is some more."

It will be answered with "Then take it from some other part of your existing budget. By the way: we're cutting it again. We have wars to fight (and pay for)."

*sigh*

originally posted by: Phage
a reply to: Zcustosmorum

only now saying they need to work on protection haha, retarded

The Russian meteor was tiny. It came from the direction of the Sun. How do you suppose it could have been detected?


Actually, the program has been in place since 1998. It has cataloged thousands of objects.
neo.jpl.nasa.gov...

So what's your point exactly? Surely it doesn't matter how big or small it was, the fact is it hit and caused injuries.

originally posted by: Zcustosmorum
a reply to: eriktheawful

Lets see now, the Chelyabinsk meteor happened over a year ago and they're only now saying they need to work on protection haha, retarded

Actually they've started way back when Shoemaker/Levy hit Jupiter. The images of those impacts, with cloud plumes BIGGER than the Earth sort of woke up a lot of people.

However, I don't think it will ever be taken seriously enough until we actually suffer a impactor that destroys some place. Even Chelyabinsky wasn't enough.

The purpose is to guard against their potential dangers.

I'm more interested in what guard they have or the plan of guards to come.

It's fine they can find them but then they need to protect if headed towards Earth.

The Bruce Willis method is fine on film, but i doubt it works in reality.

originally posted by: Phage
a reply to: Zcustosmorum

only now saying they need to work on protection haha, retarded

The Russian meteor was tiny. It came from the direction of the Sun. How do you suppose it could have been detected?


Actually, the program has been in place since 1998. It has cataloged thousands of objects.
neo.jpl.nasa.gov...

You have a ring of satellites in orbit around the Sun looking outwards, and they pick up the points of light that way?

Well, it was only a sideways jab, there will be more staff.

Surely America can just print up some more fake tree money and expand it's budget, all currency is just a fake enslavement tool anyway

My thoughts on it though differ, I say just don't even bother looking for any asteroids, because:

"Que Sera, Sera
Whatever will be, will be
The future's not ours to see
Que Sera, Sera
What will be, will be"

a reply to: Mianeye

The idea is basically long range detection.

With long range detection, and confirming actual impact, you have at least 2 options:

1) It gives enough time to evacuate the place that is going to be hit. The longer ahead of time you know, the more time you have to do this.

2) Having enough time to go out and intercept the object, and then "push" it. If you can impulse enough energy into it, you can change it's orbit. The further out it is, the less you have to push it to make a big change (so that it misses us).

Right now we can at least do number 1 (of course if the impactor is starts being bigger than a mile or more across, you start having global problems from the impact).

Number 2 however, while we do have some idea of the technology we need (and vehicle to get there), we do not just have it laying around to use.

Oh, and of course: you have to know that it's coming too.

originally posted by: eriktheawful
Looks like NASA needs to work on it's asteroid protection program:

On Monday, the space agency's inspector general released a report blasting NASA's Near Earth Objects program. The program is set up to hunt and catalog comets, asteroids and relatively large fragments of these objects that pass within 28 million miles of Earth. The purpose is to guard against their potential dangers.

In a 44-page report, Inspector General Paul Martin says the NASA program needs to be better managed with a bigger staff. NASA's science mission chief, former astronaut John Grunsfeld, agrees and promises the problems will be fixed.

Link To Article

They were charged with trying to find 90% by the year 2020, and they said that they will not be reaching that goal with how things are currently going.

Personally, I've always thought that THIS should be more of a global priority than say, fighting wars.

Of course that's just my personal opinion.

Meh. This is one area where I think the private sector should step up. Seattle based asteroid mining company Planetary Resources is among others which are planning a network of space telescopes for prospecting/tracking NEOs. Why should NASA's small budget be stretched further to duplicate what the private sector will be doing perhaps more efficiently in a few short years.

NASA: NASA and Planetary Resources Sign Agreement to Crowdsource Asteroid Detection

a reply to: JadeStar

Having the private sector step up would be good in my opinion (but I'm not seeing any kind of profit here for them, so I think they'd be a bit more reluctant).

Good news about the NASA announcement for Boeing and SpaceX, in any case.

However, I WOULD like to see less of my tax dollars spent less on war and a bit more on space exploration.

originally posted by: Zcustosmorum

originally posted by: Phage
a reply to: Zcustosmorum

only now saying they need to work on protection haha, retarded

The Russian meteor was tiny. It came from the direction of the Sun. How do you suppose it could have been detected?


Actually, the program has been in place since 1998. It has cataloged thousands of objects.
neo.jpl.nasa.gov...

So what's your point exactly? Surely it doesn't matter how big or small it was, the fact is it hit and caused injuries.

Meteors such as the Chelyabinsk meteor are not the ones the NEO program should be worried about.