Space Policy Edition #4: Near Earth Asteroids—Why we go, how we find them, and maybe mine them

In honor of OSIRIS-REx—NASA’s newest asteroid mission—we explore the policy and history of near-Earth Objects: why NASA explores them, how the government plans to find and defending the planet, and the how policy can keep up with ambitious plans to mine asteroids.

Related Reading and References:

• Planetary Radio Talks With NASA Planetary Defense Officer Lindley Johnson
• Planetary Radio: Saving the Planet at the 2015 Planetary Defense Conference
• Lindley Johnson’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office Update
• Planetary Resources
• Deep Space Industries
• National Research Council Report:  Defending Planet Earth: Near-Earth Object Surveys and Hazard Mitigation Strategies
• NASA Office of Inspector General:  NASA’s Efforts to Identify Near-Earth Objects and Mitigate Hazards
• 2010 letter from the Office of Science and Technology Policy to Congress detailing federal coordination for NEO disaster preparedness
• 2016 FEMA-NASA Planetary Impact Emergency Response Working Group (PIERWG) planetary impact working group presentation