MFGG Message Boards: Archives -> Group Urges U.N. to Address Asteroid Threat

Mario Fan Games Galaxy · Forum Rules 6.0 - Read before posting

Help

Members

Calendar

Chat

Welcome Guest ( Log In | Register )

Resend Validation Email

MFGG Message Boards: Archives -> General -> General Chat

Group Urges U.N. to Address Asteroid Threat

Track this topic | Email this topic | Print this topic

Dracon

Posted: Feb 19 2007, 08:06 AM

i'm guna headbut u
[*]

Group: Members
Posts: 5575
Member No.: 1254
Joined: 11-July 05

Status: (0d) [--]

Source.

QUOTE

SAN FRANCISCO (Feb. 18) - An asteroid may come uncomfortably close to Earth in 2036 and the United Nations should assume responsibility for a space mission to deflect it, a group of astronauts, engineers and scientists said on Saturday.

Astronomers are monitoring an asteroid named Apophis, which has a 1 in 45,000 chance of striking Earth on April 13, 2036.

Although the odds of an impact by this particular asteroid are low, a recent congressional mandate for NASA to upgrade its tracking of near-Earth asteroids is expected to uncover hundreds, if not thousands of threatening space rocks in the near future, former astronaut Rusty Schweickart said.

"It's not just Apophis we're looking at. Every country is at risk. We need a set of general principles to deal with this issue," Schweickart, a member of the Apollo 9 crew that orbited the earth in March 1969, told an American Association for the Advancement of Science conference in San Francisco.

Schweickart plans to present an update next week to the U.N. Committee on Peaceful Uses of Outer Space on plans to develop a blueprint for a global response to an asteroid threat.

The Association of Space Explorers, a group of former astronauts and cosmonauts, intends to host a series of high-level workshops this year to flesh out the plan and will make a formal proposal to the U.N. in 2009, he said.

Schweickart wants to see the United Nations adopt procedures for assessing asteroid threats and deciding if and when to take action.

The favored approach to dealing with a potentially deadly space rock is to dispatch a spacecraft that would use gravity to alter the asteroid's course so it no longer threatens Earth, said astronaut Ed Lu, a veteran of the International Space Station.

The so-called Gravity Tractor could maintain a position near the threatening asteroid, exerting a gentle tug that, over time, would deflect the asteroid.

An asteroid the size of Apophis, which is about 460 feet

long, would take about 12 days of gravity-tugging, Lu added.

Mission costs are estimated at $300 million.

Launching an asteroid deflection mission early would reduce the amount of energy needed to alter its course and increase the chances of a successful outcome, Schweickart said.

NASA says the precise effect of a 460-foot (140-meter) object hitting the Earth would depend on what the asteroid was made of and the angle of impact.

Paul Slovic, president of Oregon-based Decision Research, which studies judgment, decision-making and risk analysis, said the asteroid could take out an entire city or region.

****.

--------------------

Citrus	Posted: Feb 19 2007, 08:08 AM
not dead yet Group: Members Posts: 18197 Member No.: 145 Joined: 19-November 03 Status: (0d)	Let's fire lasers at it. --------------------

Raccoon Sam	Posted: Feb 19 2007, 08:09 AM
You need to get off your high horse. Group: Members Posts: 9707 Member No.: 1422 Joined: 6-September 05 Status: (0d)	2036? Pssh.. That's a long way to go. -------------------- read it yo

Wash your hands man!

Posted: Feb 19 2007, 08:10 AM

Well yeah guys..its kinda what i do..
[*]

Group: Members
Posts: 1039
Member No.: 846
Joined: 23-February 05

Status: (0d) [--]

QUOTE (Raccoon Sam @ Feb 19 2007, 08:09 AM)

2036?
Pssh.. That's a long way to go.

yeah, so lets just not worry about it.

Eno the Red Guy	Posted: Feb 19 2007, 11:27 AM
god i'm bored Group: Members Posts: 12157 Member No.: 51 Joined: 13-October 03 Status: (0d)	They do this ALL the time. Worry about asteroids and then say "Oh wait, it's missing us my several million miles, nevermind" in later years when it gets closer. --------------------

Ultramario	Posted: Feb 19 2007, 11:39 AM
Dan Dan Dan! Group: Members Posts: 11240 Member No.: 2164 Joined: 9-June 06 Status: (0d)	It would be worth deflecting, if it was thousand times larger. -------------------- Youtube\|DA\|Wiki\|Backloggery\|UME

Captain Jeff Silvers	Posted: Feb 19 2007, 11:42 AM
Admins Can Do That!™ Group: Admins Posts: 30098 Member No.: 9 Joined: 13-October 03 Status: (0d)	There's about a 1 in 45,000 chance of it hitting us on the date they're worried about (and 1 in a few million of it hitting at a certain later date). --------------------

OSM	Posted: Feb 19 2007, 04:55 PM
R.I.P. old MFGG Group: Banned Posts: 13037 Member No.: 357 Joined: 30-March 04 Status: (71582621m)	huzzah

Quicky	Posted: Feb 19 2007, 05:03 PM
a weed in glaber's garden Group: Members Posts: 12957 Member No.: 7 Joined: 13-October 03 Status: (0d)	just get everything organized so you can start building measures to deal with it, then wait to build until they figure out whether it's on course for earth -------------------- the only good userbar on earth:

Kamikaze Dynamite	Posted: Feb 19 2007, 05:23 PM
100 PACIFISTAS AGREE Group: Members Posts: 10178 Member No.: 1282 Joined: 19-July 05 Status: (0d)	Well, hopefully, the whole deflecting thing will turn out well, and we'll survive longer. At least until the next asteroid. -------------------- HOOOOOOOly blap DEVIANTART

Hatman	Posted: Feb 19 2007, 05:34 PM
The astro craaag Group: Members Posts: 10223 Member No.: 2510 Joined: 16-August 06 Status: (0d)	So this is what a bullseye feels like. Good thing the asteriod has terrible aim.

Quicky

Posted: Feb 19 2007, 06:06 PM

a weed in glaber's garden
[*]

Group: Members
Posts: 12957
Member No.: 7
Joined: 13-October 03

Status: (0d) [--]

QUOTE (Kami @ Feb 19 2007, 05:23 PM)

Well, hopefully, the whole deflecting thing will turn out well, and we'll survive longer.

At least until the next asteroid.

even this cat knows how we can avert this horrible crisis:

user posted image

--------------------

the only good userbar on earth:

Silver_wolf	Posted: Feb 19 2007, 08:36 PM
Made of Epic Phail. Group: Members Posts: 386 Member No.: 3111 Joined: 27-December 06 Status: (0d)	I read this a LONG time ago. I think the 300 million is worth the spending to ensure the safety of countless people. Plus, even if the asteroid impacts in an ocean, that's still a big risk because of the shockwave and the tsunami that would come after it. I think this is a great way to take out an asteroid without having chunks fly at the Earth. -------------------- My Sheezyart Page: Click "...Meh, I don't have anything interestin' to say. o-o"

Cutman	Posted: Feb 19 2007, 08:38 PM
MFGGU Admin Group: Banned Posts: 9251 Member No.: 214 Joined: 3-January 04 Status: (71582602m)	I'm pretty sure this is the same meteor that Exit Mundi mentions. -------------------- VIVA LA UNDERGROUND! Proud to be a part of the Cancer MFGG Wiki Entry \| Ref for art \| Website \| Public FTP site \| Deviantart \| Godamnit MFGG!

1 User(s) are reading this topic (1 Guests and 0 Anonymous Users)

0 Members:

« Next Oldest | General Chat | Next Newest »

Topic Options

[ Script Execution time: 0.0576 ] [ 14 queries used ] [ GZIP Enabled ] [ Server Load: 0.99 ]