NASA Has the Asteroid Protection Plan, But Where's the Money?

Let's hope it never comes to this. (Credit: muratart/Shutterstock) Asteroid impacts have the distinction of being one of the few sci-fi concepts that will definitely happen at some point. But despite the clear and present (although potentially far off) danger of getting smacked by an asteroid, we've devoted few resources to averting such a catastrophe. As Discoverreported in 2013, NASA's budget for such operations makes up only a fraction of their budget, although it has risen in recent years, and it's unclear how that might change under the Trump Administration. NASA in 2015 ended an agreement that provided non-financial support to the Sentinel mission — designed specifically to pinpoint incoming asteroids — and similar asteroid defense projects are largely dependent on private donations. In a new report, a coalition of federal agencies is making the case to increase support for detection and deflection efforts, laying out a multifaceted, long-term blueprint to defend Earth from rocky invaders. The interagency working group comprises members of NASA, FEMA, the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security, among others. The coalition convened in January 2016, and its first report was released on the heels of an asteroid impact response simulation conducted by NASA and FEMA in California.