Do we need a global policy for Near Earth Asteroids?

William Atkins
Saturday, 06 December 2008 04:18

Science - Space

According to the members of the Panel on Asteroid Threat Mitigation, yes, we need an international strategy. They have compiled a report about the need for a global response to the threat of Near Earth Asteroids (NEAs).


The members of the Panel on Asteroid Threat Mitigation (PATM) are also members of the larger organization Association of Space Explorers (ASE). Other PATM members are asteroid experts from around the world.

The PATM report has been given to the United Nations and many of the world’s space agencies.

The NewsWise.com article “Asteroid Threats to Earth – UN Officials Briefed on Need for Global Response” states that the two-year report recommends that an international decision-making program is needed to respond to the threat of asteroids that fly near to our planet Earth.

Former NASA Apollo astronaut Russell Schweickart is the chairperson of the PATM.

Their report called “Asteroid Threats: A Call for Global Response,” (pdf file) was discussed at the November 25, 2008 meeting with representatives from the Permanent Missions (PM) to the United Nations.

The review of the report is being coordinated with PM members, along with members of the One Earth Future Foundation, located at Broomfield, Colorado, U.S.A., and Secure World Foundation, located at Superior, Colorado.

The report has already been given to officials of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

The report will also be given to European Space Agency, along with the space agencies within China, Japan and Russia.

A discussion about NEAs is provided by Schweickart. Read about it at "Current Interests."