NASA NEO Workshop

I think we're going to start hearing and reading proposed methods of deflection, ranging from funny to exploitively expensive.
That's probably a good thing. Some oddball ideas just might be helpful.

It will also be interesting to see if and how it affects space program policy.

>It will also be interesting to see if and how it affects space program policy.

Particularly to a recent article about "nation's battered satellite environmental monitoring program."

Major climatic change is probably a far more serious threat than an asteroid impact. There are those who don't believe in global warming but just what if you are wrong. If it happens cannot be saved by Bruce Willis and secret USAF shuttles.

Should I send them the copy of 'Project Icarus' from the Lunar Library?

Which reminds me...I haven't seen a Natalie Wood film in a while. Time to go digging in the Big Rocks from Space section of the Library for 'Meteor'.

I think there's going to be some confusion in judging the NEO priority because of this. The odds I saw in the Time article were 1/1000 of a hit by year 2200.
People will think that sums up the NEO danger.
But a Tunguska sized object has been estimated by NASA to actually hit earth on average once per 300 years. That means in any 50 year period the odds are one in six.
The Tunguska blast was estimated by NASA as equivalent to 185 Hiroshima bombs.
http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2008/30jun_tunguska/

Just trying to keep a proper perspective.

Congress had better initiate a new NASA program to deal with this now. Given our track record for schedule slips and Congress' penchant for underfunding us, we might have something in place in about 170 years.