Posted: Mon, Jul 15, 2002, 7:19 PM ET (2319 GMT)
Current efforts to search for near-Earth objects (NEOs) need more funding in order to search for smaller objects as well as research mays to mitigate any impact threat, a panels of experts said last week. A roundtable meeting of experts, held in a US Senate office building last Wednesday and organized by the lobbying group ProSpace, concluded that NASA-funded efforts to detect large NEOs, more than 1 km across, are going well. However, more resources are needed to look for NEOs as small as 50 m across that could devastate a city if they collided with the Earth. Another concern expressed by panelists is the need to coordinate and disseminate data: the Minor Planets Center, the clearinghouse for NEO observations, relies on just a few overworked employees to carry out their work. Pete Worden, an Air Force general and PhD astronomer, noted that US satellites noticed a bright flash over the Mediterranean in early June that is believed to be an exploding meteor. Had it occurred at the same latitude several hours earlier, over India and Pakistan, the explosion could have triggered a nuclear war since the two nations do not have access to the same data as the US.

Related Links:

•  Spaceflight Now article
•  Sky and Telescope article
•  SPACE.com article
•  BBC article