Another Choice

I would hate to see the world forced to go through the great hardship and loss of life and property from a large comet or asteroid impact. Especially because this horrendous destruction is completely preventable. The level of technology today has evolved to the point that we could prevent the next great cataclysm. But like ostriches, we hide our heads in the sand and pretend the threat does not exist. We doom ourselves, our children or their children to witness an impact first-hand up-close-and-personal.

We could end this threat once-and-for-all by focussing our energy, our ingenuity and talent on building a comprehensive space-based satellite detection system and developing and testing mitigation systems.

But this all takes a commitment on the part of our government. Thus far, our government has not stepped up to the plate.

The other choice that we have as citizens of this great nation is to inform and pressure our governmental representatives to seriously address this threat. One means by which this is done in our society, is for you the viewer of this web site, to write a letter to your local congress representatives and request their assistance.

I have attached a sample letter as an example below.

Dear Congressman

Recent advances in the sciences have uncovered a strong correlation between major extinction events on Earth and the impacts from large comets and asteroids. Although these events are rare, when they strike they are capable of causing great death and destruction, even the extinction of the human race.

On May 19, 1996, an asteroid, 1996JA1, came dangerously close to Earth. If the asteroid had struck Earth, the impact would have released energy in the order of 3,000 to 12,000 megatons of TNT. The impact would have caused approximately 60 million deaths and hundreds of billions of dollars in property damage worldwide. The asteroid was discovered only 3 days before the near miss.

On August 7, 2027, another asteroid, 1999AN10, will come dangerously close to Earth. This asteroid, if it were to strike the Earth, would cause about the same level of damage as 1996JA1.

If the comet fragments of Shoemaker-Levy 9 had struck Earth in July 1994 instead of the planet Jupiter, it would have been equivalent to the damage caused by the impact that destroyed the dinosaurs 65 million years ago.

We are living on borrowed time. The threat is real. Someday, a comet or asteroid will strike Earth and we have not adequately prepared for this event. We do not have a detection system that would provide us with a reasonable warning time for all threatening comets and asteroids. Although we have made some progress recently with the Spaceguard Survey, we have identified only a small portion of the Near Earth Objects (NEO’s). We do not have a mitigation system in place nor an impact survival plan.

I have the privilege of living in one of the greatest nations on the face of this Earth. This is a nation that has set the mark in scientific discover and innovation. Is it too much to ask that we as a nation focus some energy and resources on this threat? NASA estimates the probability of being killed from a comet/meteor impact as 1 in 20,000; about the same probability of dying in an airplane accident.

I request that Congress and the Administration make a solid long-term commitment to eliminate the threat from comet and asteroid impacts. I request our government establish a Department of Planetary Defense. This new Department with it's narrow focus and mission would establish a cohesive approach to solving this problem (something that has been lacking up to this point). The Department would direct, coordinate and fund Planetary Defense efforts within the appropriate agencies. The Department would coordinate Detection & Threat Analysis (NASA), Threat Mitigation (USAF) and Defense Preparedness (FEMA) efforts. I recommend that the Planetary Defense program be authorized and appropriated for a 10 year period with rigidly fenced funding and clear, concrete program objectives.

I request the immediate full restoration of NASA funding for delay Doppler radar sites at Goldstone and Arecibo. This is a critical core capability that measures asteroid and comet trajectory and impactor parameters with several orders of magnitude greater accuracy than provided by optical telescopes. This level of accuracy is essential for determining final impact probability, assessing mitigation approaches, and providing Earth point-of-impact solutions.

Sincerely

Click HERE for the name & address of your local U.S. Senators.

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