Conway, Erik M. (Author)
Yeomans, Donald K. (Author)
Meg Rosenburg (Author)
National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NASA History Division
Publication date: 2022
Language: English
Physical Details: 405
In 2016, NASA took on a new responsibility: Planetary Defense Coordination. That event reflected a growing interest in, and concern about, the threat of celestial impacts.Built on the foundation of NASA’s older Near-Earth Objects Observations Program, this new organization is intended to continue funding and coordinating ongoing search and research efforts for near-Earth objects (generally short-handed as “NEOs”), identify strategies to reduce the risk of future large impacts by NEOs (called “mitigation”), and coordinate emergency response actions with other federal agencies and international partners. A number of highly public recent events preceded this action. Most prominently, an object about 20 meters in diameter had impacted Earth’s atmosphere and exploded at an altitude of about 23 kilometers near the Russian city of Chelyabinsk on 15 February 2013, releasing the energy equivalent of about 500 kilotons of TNT.The explosion was high enough above the surface that it did only modest structural damage, but even so, there were over 1,500 injuries, mostly from glass shattered by the violent shock wave initiated in the blast. By chance, the fireball was recorded on dashboard cameras installed by Russian citizens to record accidents and police encounters, resulting in an unprecedented circumstance: unlike every other known NEO impact, the Chelyabinsk airburst was a visual event that could be widely shared—and broadcast worldwideIn ancient times, the solar system’s small bodies—asteroids and comets—were sometimes seen as ill omens, warnings from the gods. In modern times, they have come to be seen as the solar system’s rubble, leftovers from its formation, but still largely ignored until the late 20th century. Increasingly, they have been seen by scientists as objects worthy of study; by the general public, and the U.S. government, as potential threats to be mitigated; and by space advocates as future resources.This book tells the story of those reinterpretations and NASA’s role in them.There are fascinating insights that are of interest to us all! Pick up this book today!NEO - Near-Earth Object - Comets - Asteroids - Earth Impact
...MoreReview Steven J. Dick (2023) Review of "A History of Near-Earth Objects Research: NASA Planetary Defense Coordination Office". Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage (pp. 513-517).
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