Asteroid
Image courtesy of NASA shows an artist's concept of a broken-up asteroid. Scientists think that a giant asteroid, which broke up long ago in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, eventually made its way to Earth and led to the extinction of the dinosaurs. Data from NASA's WISE mission likely rules out the leading suspect, a member of a family of asteroids called Baptistina, so the search for the origins of the dinosaur-killing asteroid goes on. Reuters/NASA/JPL-Caltech/Handout

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has announced the establishment of its new organisation, the Planetary Defence Coordination Office (PDCO), tasked to detect natural impact hazards and plan for planetary defence. PDCO will coordinate US agencies and intergovernmental efforts to plan immediate response to potential impacts of near-Earth objects (NEOs).

The new office will also supervise all NASA-funded projects aimed to search asteroids and comets that will pass near the Earth's orbit. PDCO will provide notices of close passes and warn people of potential impacts.

NASA will work with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to provide details about impact timing, location and effects to inform emergency response operations. FEMA would plan for preparations and response to the consequences of atmospheric entry, NASA said.

"The formal establishment of the Planetary Defence Coordination Office makes it evident that the agency is committed to perform a leadership role in national and international efforts for the detection of these natural impact hazards, and to be engaged in planning if there is a need for planetary defence," Lindley Johnson, NASA's near-Earth object programme executive and head of the PDCO, said in a statement.

NASA has long been working to develop technology and techniques for deflecting or redirecting space objects that would hit Earth. The space agency is also continuing work to search for these objects.

Over 90 percent of NEOs larger than 3,000 feet are already discovered by NASA-funded surveys, and the agency is currently searching objects 450 feet or larger that still pose harm on Earth. About 25 percent of these objects are already discovered, and NASA is aiming to find 90 percent by 2020. Each year, there are 1,500 space objects being detected near Earth.

"Asteroid detection, tracking and defence of our planet is something that NASA, its interagency partners, and the global community take very seriously," said John Grunsfeld, associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate. "While there are no known impact threats at this time, the 2013 Chelyabinsk super-fireball and the recent 'Halloween Asteroid' close approach remind us of why we need to remain vigilant and keep our eyes to the sky."

NASA has already funded nine studies to explore techniques for impact mitigation under its NEO Observations Programme. The agency has 54 ongoing projects aimed for detection and tracking campaigns, asteroid characterisation efforts and radar projects.

The public can access regular updates on passing space objects using the NASA’s asteroid widget. It provides the next five close approaches to Earth and a link to the CNEOS website that gives a list of recent and upcoming approaches and other data about NEOs.

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