New Planetary Defense Strategy Outlines Key US Government Goals

Planetary defense entered a new era last year when NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission demonstrated for the first time the ability to alter an asteroid’s orbit. The successful mission was achieved with the support of a worldwide observation campaign, and growing global interest in hazardous near-Earth objects (NEOs) – asteroids and comets that could come into Earth’s neighborhood. Despite these breakthroughs and growing awareness, less than half of NEOs capable of serious damage on Earth have been catalogued.