Date: Mon, 28 Oct 2013 21:36:29 -0400
From: mark <whitroth at 5-cent.us>
To: undisclosed-recipients:;
Subject: [WSFA] Finally! U.N. to create asteroid defense group
Reply-To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at KeithLynch.net>

Excerpt:
The General Assembly last week gave the green light to an asteroid defense
plan drawn up by the former astronauts at the Association of Space
Explorers, Scientific American reports. The plan calls for member nations
to join forces in an "International Asteroid Warning Group" committed to
sounding the alarm if a dangerous rock is spotted. A spacecraft would then
be launched to knock the asteroid off course.

The ASE also wants the U.N. to run a practice deflection mission, to make
sure the method actually works.

Right now, no nation has an explicit responsibility to defend against an
asteroid, and one former astronaut explained why the task should fall to
the U.N., reports Space.com: "If something goes wrong in the middle of the
deflection, you have now caused havoc in some other nation that was not at
risk. And, therefore, this decision of what to do, how to do it, and what
systems to use have to be coordinated internationally."
--- end excerpt ---

<http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/10/28/asteroid-defense-united-nations/3286133/>

       mark