U.N. urged to take action on asteroid threat

U.N. urged to take action on asteroid threat

Source Link: today.reuters.com

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - An asteroid may come uncomfortably close to Earth in 2036 and the United Nations should assume responsibility for a space mission to deflect it, a group of astronauts, engineers and scientists said on Saturday.

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 are low, a recent congressional mandate for NASA to upgrade its tracking of near-Earth asteroids is expected to uncover hundreds, if not thousands of threatening space rocks in the near future, former astronaut Rusty Schweickart said.

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This is good news. I've been an amateur astronomer for quite some time and asteroid hunting is a major part of my research. Currently there are not enough people throughout the world looking for dangerous objects. I hope this changes that.

I just realized somebody else beat me to this. My apologies...

That's good that they are taking action now. Wasn't there also supposed to be an asteroid that is due to hit us or come near us today, what are they doing about that, and what are they doing about the ones that are going to come close to us soon? This is good that they are taking close precaution to this, I heard yesterday that they were going to try and deflect an asteroid somewhere. That is good news.

The action shall be to build a deeper bunker for heads of state and corporate moguls, while the rest will have to scratch dirt on their own. In 2036, they can broadcast the movie Armageddon to make folks think something is being done for them.

lol, Regen, I'm sure that's not too far off. Regardless of what they do, what Regen said above is going to be the first step.

What I was thinking is the US could see this as an opportunity to justify their Star Wars program and possibly even get international funding for it if we just turn our satellites space bound so they can serve for "peaceful"(defensive) purposes. This would save everyone money from not having to build an entirely new system.

Seriously though, I am excited to see the UN taking the lead on potential catastrophes and social issues such as these. Global problems such as these should be used to help unite mankind rather than as a device to divide us. The UN will help to bring a clear message and mission to this ends, BRAVO! This is exactly what the UN needs to be doing, these types of missions are their bread and butter, since they have proved to be less successful detering countries from attacking one another.

I look forward to seeing the differnt types of designs and solutions people think of to solve this problem.

What's the UN going to do?

Pass 18 Resolutions against the Asteriod, then wait for the U.S. to take action?

Hey...wait a second...that's what happened in Iraq.

Actually, the UN is not yet involved but it is being suggested by the group discussed in the article that they become involved. One of the astronauts mentioned will update the UN next week on a formal proposal to be presented to one of its agencies in 2009 so we've still a ways to go before we see any real UN action on this at all. It will be good for this topic to get some additional worldwide attention in the meantime, however.

I think that its great that they are raising awareness on this subject, but really 1 in 45,000. I mean how often does an Asteroid hit the earth and do any signifigant damage? There were 94 lightning deaths in the US in 1980 out of 225 million people. Thus, you have odds of about 1 in 2.4 million of dying of lightning per year and 1 in 32,000 of ever dying of lightning (assuming a 75 year lifespan). There are about 2.4 motor vehicle fatalities per 100 million miles travelled. Thus, in a 1000 mile trip, you have about 1 in 42,000 odds of dying. Both greater than getting nailed by that asteroid. I'm waering my seatbelt

Originally posted by MooneyBravo
I just realized somebody else beat me to this. My apologies...

No you go to hell, you go to hell and you die!! j/k

Apology noted and accepted.

Originally posted by RRconservative

What's the UN going to do?

Pass 18 Resolutions against the Asteriod, then wait for the U.S. to take action?

Hey...wait a second...that's what happened in Iraq.

RRconservative... That was a classic. I'll have to remember that one.