"Asteroid Grand Challenge," NASA asking for help!

"Unlike traditional NASA missions of exploration and science, this grand challenge is driven by the idea that protecting our planet is an issue bigger than any one program, mission or country," NASA chief technologist Mason Peck said in a statement.

Why they say this? I know there is much meteor fall into earth..but it to odd to say in this day..

"For the first time, NASA has reached out to industry, academia, stakeholder organizations and private citizens for ideas on how to find, track and deflect asteroids," Peck added. "These partnerships represent a new way of doing business for NASA and a call to action for makers: join us to become a critical part of the future of space exploration."

Read more :m.space.com...

So what you say? We all know back there lot of meteor fall from sky..This is getting odd..they more like "hide" then show to public the future of space exploration..

reply to post by cheesy


I urge anyone passing information onto NASA or anyone else for that matter, that you announce it first publicly. NASA will screw you over, they will take your data and keep it hidden from the public, otherwise only a small few will benefit from the information.

Love and harmony
Whateva

reply to post by cheesy


Cheaper than the Space Fence, I guess.

They need to use the technology the have already to take out incoming missle attacks.
Sounds like they might be preparing for the unexpected.
Are they worried about ISON breaking apart?
We are F***d

OH GOD






LOL

i think that they may know something to be honest, and realize that they can't watch all of of space.

you know that there was a asteroid that just flew by on the 18th that was only discovered on the 13th.

i think that maybe they are watching for something that's headed this way and has debris in front of it.

reply to post by cheesy


It requires GLOBAL effort
The responses available:
planetary flee-load population on Exodus Crafts avoid threat(s)

planetary dig in-some population begin to access underground hypothesized safe zones and bases globally

Planetary Asteroid/Comet deflection/collection? systems-
w/ MOON based and large artificial satellite mounted (deflection) lasers, arrayed to magnify-pull natural concentrated SOL energy into focus -like controlled cme beams or other rays- The use of SOL is so that no artificial energy like nuclear energy for example that could potentially release waste into Cosmos is used.
Secondary phase (magnetic-sonic) debris guidance (collection) response for potential materials that can assist in funding such programs if not Globally free for the sake of the inhabitants that are Planetary "roof" dwellers and not "interior" dwellers...

These systems would require (artificial & manual) piloted craft.

The artificial (deflection armed craft) would sit furthest outside of EA*RTH space and can be commanded from EA*RTH / MOON and larger artificial satellites manually or with monitored, advanced live cosmic data observing AI. The AI data can then be used to array gather SOL energy and produce beams/rays to be first response to tracked celestials in EA*RTH path.

The manual piloted (deflection armed craft) would sit closer to EA*RTH space maybe with their own miniature robotic brilliant pebbles like fleets oriented per craft that can help with direct response to missed incoming Asteroid/Comet that AI couldn't prevent out in deeper space.

On EA*RTH multiple direct response potentials with large RAIL GUNS & MASSIVE RAIL GUNS & LASERS almost requiring their own Islands do to their seismic movements and potential radioactive dangers when activated (global effort priceless global effort)
These would be like final defense if missed asteroid-comet-debris makes atmospheric contact.

1 knows this seems impossible but is it really considering EA*RTH industrial-labor-military-science-technological-banking capacity?

Outta box increase kinesis deflections abilities... somehow with some.
GOOD LUCK

reply to post by Araqiel


Space Fence was useless for detecting asteroids. It couldn't even see to Geosynchronous Orbit. By the time it detected anything we'd be dead.

reply to [url= by cheesy[/url]


kidding, right? N-W-O (for the good of all mankind)

This is not the first time NASA has asked the public for contributions. They had a Send Your Name to the Moon mission, a Send Your Name to Mars mission, both tying into various launches and the STS Shuttle Send your Face to Space missions. Personal examples below:

MysteriousHusky
This is not the first time NASA has asked the public for contributions. They had a Send Your Name to the Moon mission, a Send Your Name to Mars mission, both tying into various launches and the STS Shuttle Send your Face to Space missions. Personal examples below:

that's just a little bit different than, actively looking for meteors and asteroids.
the one your talking about is just sending your name or picture to space.
which is a not like sitting in a observatory, or your back yard looking through a telescope, searching for something that might only seem like a small spec. that could easily be overlooked.

knowing that these things can be overlooked.
that's why i think that they want help, they are actively trying to id something that they know is on the way.

the more eyes you have looking the better chance of spotting them.

reply to post by hounddoghowlie


Yeah but even amateur astronomers can see something coming. If NASA wants to recruit those then the incentive is the NASA association or rather the NASA "brand". Alternatively, if you can help stop a comet destined to destroy humanity you will be remembered and that fame is an incentive on its own.

hounddoghowlie
the more eyes you have looking the better chance of spotting them.

edit on 22-9-2013 by hounddoghowlie because: (no reason given)

Exactly. At one point, not that long ago, they had something like 10% of the skies mapped. Even with all their telescopes and observatories they can only map so much of the skies, so fast. The more people they can recruit, the more sky they can map, and the better chance of finding something.

I am rather confused, why can't they just use the many drones in America's arsenal for this particular mission?

Even modified versions could be of some use, or smaller more camera intensive drones designed specifically to be placed in a standard orbital pattern around the planet.

Something like this perhaps?

reply to post by Thorneblood


D'Oh! Wrong thread.

UAVs can't hold telescopes on them. And their cameras can't look up into the skies and see any distance.

reply to post by Zaphod58


Well obviously they would be deployed in space and not in the atmosphere....
Launch em from the ISS....modify the drones with the necessary telescope/sensor packages...
Is it really that difficult?
I mean hell the space station has a pretty nice webcam mounted on the outside of it.

reply to post by Thorneblood


Aside from breaking the budget, a 16 inch IR telescope that NASA was using in the 90s, required a C-141 to carry it. You'd need a pretty big UAV, rockets to launch them, and a pretty decent R&D budget to make it work.

reply to post by Zaphod58


I am no amateur astronomer but can't you go out and buy a telescope or even go online and get one that can see all the way to mars or further?

Furthermore, and again i am not expert but merely spit-balling here, could not an astronaut on a space walk just throw a baseball that would continue on its present course for a very long time if not forever?

If thats the case could not a simple CO2 based launcher fire an advanced camera ball?

reply to post by Thorneblood


That would be great, but you'd need thousands of them, if not more. And it would take years to map the sky, probably decades. They've found several asteroids lately literally days before they passed us. The fastest, cheapest, and best way to map the sky is to get a lot of people looking at all areas of it.

As I see it. Most Sat's orbiting the Earth spying should be looking the other way if their was a threat! Sure in the hell can soom onto a passing car and get the plates off of it why can't they just turn the darn thing around?

Another way of going about this is putting them on the moon; opps! Heard the Other's live there and have a no contact law going.

Feel free to use this one too! With all that space junk floating around. Starting small, go grab it for part's and gold! Then use the money to build small craft's/ drones and circle furtur out then the moon.

Don't let NASA fool you. Take Mar's One; sending people to Mar's and talking to them would takes weeks back and forth right? So either they have some sort of drones out there with ear's to speed up talk time with Mar's!

You just do not send people on a one way trip without any possible way of talking to them. It would be like
this; Mar's One over...........................5 days later.....................over Mar's One..................5 days later....................we have a problem with our air system over.................................5 days later their all
DEAD!

See where I'm going with this one? We could not stop a football size ball at 25,000 miles an hour! All it would take is one of them to hit something like a Power Plant and Opp's missed that one!

Now a very big anit-grav beam to push it off course might work. Or that big Ring Thing that makes small black holes
sending a beam would, might, could crush it to a pea!

reply to post by Zaphod58


Why would thousands of them be a big deal. If you consider they spend millions on just one satellite then doesnt it stand to reason that the same amount of money could be spent on a much smaller system specifically designed to be sent out in large numbers towards all corners of the solar system.

For example, imagine the way a top spins. Now apply that same system to a satellite, as it reaches a high enough rate of spin it launches dozens/hundreds of small telescopic camera balls that are flung out into the universe.

Or...

A modified version of the t34 missile launcher, which has 60 launch tubes, could in theory fire a series of drones off into any number of directions.

Lets assume each "Ball" costs about 10,000 dollars to produce. If you multiply that by 60, then its just 600,000 dollars to use right?