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77-665: The founders were Piet Hut (astrophysicist at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton), Roger Shepard (then cognitive psychologist at Stanford University), Steven Tainer (instructor at the Institute for World Religions), Bas van Fraassen (then philosopher of science at Princeton University), and Arthur Zajonc (physicist at Amherst College). The Kira Institute conducted a series of yearly summer schools at Amherst College , from 1998 to 2002, aimed at bringing together graduate students from various disciplines within science, as well as

154-572: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, to be placed into a Venus -trailing Heliocentric orbit around the Sun. Orbiting between the Sun and Earth, the Sun's rays would always be behind the telescope's lens and thus never inhibit the space observatory 's ability to detect asteroids or other near-Earth objects (NEOs). From the vantage of its inner-solar system orbit around the Sun, Sentinel would be able to "pick up objects that are currently difficult, if not impossible, to see in advance from Earth", such as occurred with

231-488: A heliocentric orbit around the Sun similar to that of Venus , Sentinel's supercooled infrared detector would have helped identify dangerous asteroids and other NEOs that pose a risk of collision with Earth. In the absence of substantive planetary defense provided by governments worldwide, B612 attempted a fundraising campaign to cover the Sentinel Mission, estimated at $ 450 million for 10 years of operation. Fundraising

308-493: A 1996 agreement in which Hut had promised to resign by mid-2001. According to IAS Director Phillip Griffiths , Hut had been hired in expectation of his eventually succeeding professor John N. Bahcall as leader of the astrophysics group, but "was not performing" at the required level. Hut's rebuttal was first, that his work was not inferior but only (to some eyes) unfashionable, and second, that he had been coerced into signing any agreement. Many prominent astrophysicists defended

385-541: A PhD at the University of Amsterdam . Previously an assistant professor at the University of California, Berkeley , Hut was in 1985, at the age of 32, appointed as a full professor at the Institute for Advanced Study. At the time, he was the youngest professor appointed there. Hut became a corresponding member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1996. An accomplished astrophysicist, Hut

462-582: A brand new observatory. Schweickart stated that about "80% of what we're dealing with in Sentinel is Kepler , 15% Spitzer , 5% new, higher-performance infrared sensors ", thus concentrating its R&D funds on the critical area of cryogenically-cooled image sensor technology, producing what it terms will be the most sensitive type of asteroid-finding telescope ever built. Data gathered by Sentinel would be provided through existing scientific data-sharing networks that include NASA and academic institutions such as

539-403: A catastrophic impact over an inhabited area that could kill millions, a point made near the video's end. During the first decade of the 2000s, there were serious concerns the 325 metres (1,066 ft) wide asteroid 99942 Apophis posed a risk of impacting Earth in 2036. Preliminary, incomplete data by astronomers using ground-based sky surveys resulted in the calculation of a Level 4 risk on

616-476: A fraction of a second as nearly 160 million tonnes of limestone and bedrock were uplifted, creating its crater rim on formerly flat terrain. The asteroid that produced the Barringer Crater was only about 46 metres (151 ft) in size; however it impacted the ground at a velocity of 12.8 km/s (29,000 mph) and struck with an impact energy of 10 megatonnes of TNT (42 PJ)—about 625 times greater than

693-539: A graduate degree in solid state and semiconductor physics at the University of California at Berkeley . Dr. Marc W. Buie (b. 1958) is the foundation's Sentinel Mission Scientist, and as well a U.S. astronomer at Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona . Buie received his B.Sc. in physics from Louisiana State University in 1980 and earned his Ph.D. in Planetary Science from the University of Arizona in 1984. He

770-690: A joint appointment with the Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics at the University of Colorado . Lu performed postdoctoral fellow work at the Institute for Astronomy in Honolulu, Hawaii from 1992 until 1995 before being selected for NASA's Astronaut Corps in 1994. Lu developed a number of new theoretical advances, which have provided for the first time a basic understanding of the underlying physics of solar flares . Besides his work on solar flares he has published journal articles and scientific papers on

847-455: A lack of ownership, priority and funding that governments have assigned to asteroid threats, also stating on a different occasion "We're the only ones taking it seriously." According to another B612 board member, Rusty Schweickart, "The good news is, you can prevent it—not just get ready for it! The bad news is, it's hard to get anybody to pay attention to it when there are potholes in the road." After providing earlier Congressional testimony on

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924-631: A large dynamic catalog of such objects that would help identify dangerous Earth-impactors, deemed a necessary precursor to mounting any asteroid deflection mission. In March and April 2013, several weeks after the Chelyabinsk meteor explosion injured some 1,500 people, the U.S. Congress held hearings for "...the Risks, Impacts and Solutions for Space Threats". They received testimony from B612 head Ed Lu (see video at right), as well as Dr. Donald K. Yeomans, head of NASA's NEO Program Office, Dr. Michael A'Hearn of

1001-562: A legislated mandate for planetary protection , not being permitted to request it. Feeling it would be imprudent to continue waiting for substantive government or United Nations action, B612 began a fundraising campaign in 2012 to cover the approximate US$ 450 million cost for the development, launch and operations of an asteroid-finding space telescope , to be called Sentinel , with a goal of raising $ 30 to $ 40 million per year. The space observatory 's objective would be to accurately survey NEOs from an orbit similar to that Venus, creating

1078-588: A mass of 1,500 kilograms (3,300 lb) and would orbit the Sun at a distance of 0.6 to 0.8 astronomical units (90,000,000 to 120,000,000 km; 56,000,000 to 74,000,000 mi) approximately the same orbital distance as Venus , employing infrared astronomy to identify asteroids against the cold of outer space. Sentinel would scan in the 7- to 15-micron wavelength band across a 5.5 by 2-degree field of view. Its sensor array would consist of 16 detectors with coverage scanning "a 200-degree, full-angle field of regard". B612, working in partnership with Ball Aerospace,

1155-468: A number of technical obstacles. Nuclear explosives were seen as "too risky and unpredictable" for several reasons, warranting the view that gently altering an asteroid's trajectory was the safest approach—but also a method requiring years of advance warning to successfully accomplish. The October 2001 asteroid deflection workshop participants created the "B612 Project" to further their research. Schweickart, along with Drs. Hut, Lu and Chapman, then formed

1232-664: A public forum moderated by Neil deGrasse Tyson not far from the United Nations Headquarters . The panel urged the global community to adopt further important steps for planetary defense against NEO impacts. Their recommendations included: The Sentinel Mission program was the cornerstone of the B612 Foundation's earlier efforts, with its preliminary design and system architecture level reviews planned for 2014, and its critical design review to be conducted in 2015. The infrared telescope would be launched atop

1309-490: A single Air Force Next-Generation Bomber . The $ 450 million cost estimate is composed of $ 250 million to create Sentinel, plus another $ 200 million for 10 years of operations. In explaining the Foundation's bypassing of possible governmental grants for such a mission, Dr. Lu stated their public fundraising appeal is being driven by "[t]he tragedy of the commons: When it's everybody's problem, it's nobody's problem", referring to

1386-596: A six-hour spacewalk outside the station performing construction work. During his three missions he logged a total of 206 days in space. His education includes an electrical engineering degree from Cornell University , and a Ph.D. in applied physics from Stanford University . Lu became a specialist in solar physics and astrophysics as a visiting scientist at the High Altitude Observatory based in Boulder, Colorado, from 1989 until 1992. In his final year, he held

1463-569: A wide range of topics including cosmology , solar oscillations , statistical mechanics , plasma physics , near-Earth asteroids , and is also a co-inventor of the gravitational tractor concept of asteroid deflection . In 2007 Lu retired from NASA to become the Program Manager on Google 's Advanced Projects Team , and also worked with Liquid Robotics as its Chief of Innovative Applications, and at Hover Inc. as its chief technology officer . While still at NASA during 2002 Lu co-founded

1540-484: A year for three-day weekends. These meetings served to guide the group's main research, publications and educational activities. In 2008, Kira Institute created a Kira Café in the virtual world of Second Life , which hosted workshops on topics such as "laboratories in the metaverse ", art history , law , phenomenology , and interdisciplinary studies . The Kira Café had an operating philosophy comparable to Café Scientifique . The building stood until April 2015, when

1617-438: Is a greater risk of large casualties arising from a mid-sized asteroid impact. However, as of the early 2010s, only about a half of one per cent of Tunguska-type NEOs had been located by astronomers using ground-based telescope surveys. The need for an asteroid detection program has been compared to the need for monsoon, typhoon, and hurricane preparedness. As the B612 Foundation and other organizations have publicly noted, of

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1694-514: Is also one of the co-discoverers of Pluto's new moons, Nix and Hydra (Pluto II and Pluto III) discovered in 2005. Buie has worked with the Deep Ecliptic Survey team who have been responsible for the discovery of over a thousand such distant objects. He also studies the Kuiper Belt and transitional objects such as 2060 Chiron and 5145 Pholus , as well as the occasional comets as with

1771-548: Is best known for the Barnes–Hut simulation algorithm, developed with Joshua Barnes. By using a tree-based data structure, the Barnes–Hut method significantly speeds up the calculation of the gravitational motion of large numbers of stars, making accessible such problems as collisions between galaxies. Barnes–Hut simulation algorithm, which has become a standard in n-body problems , reduces its complexity to N log N. Hut introduced

1848-478: Is led mainly by scientists, former astronauts and engineers from the Institute for Advanced Study , Southwest Research Institute , Stanford University , NASA and the space industry . As a non-governmental organization it has conducted two lines of related research to help detect NEOs that could one day strike the Earth , and find the technological means to divert their path to avoid such collisions. It also assisted

1925-472: Is the B612 Foundation's Sentinel Program Architect, as well as a physicist, academic and a former executive-level manager at NASA , the U.S. space agency. He is a professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics at Stanford University and has been engaged in space-related research as well as program, project and executive management for more than 35 years including 20 years with NASA , culminating his career there as director of NASA's Ames Research Center . At Ames he

2002-624: Is the chairman of the B612 Foundation's Sentinel Standing Review Team (SSRT), and a former executive-level manager at NASA . He served with NASA for 30 years, including his position as Associate Director for Flight Programs and Mission Assurance at their Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) organization, and "has been at the forefront in leading many of the most successful U.S. space missions, including Galileo's mission to Jupiter, Cassini–Huygens mission to Saturn , development of Genesis, Stardust , Mars 2001 Odyssey , Mars Exploration Rovers , SPITZER and Galaxy Evolution Explorer programs." In 2001 he

2079-757: The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics 's Von Karman Medal . Hubbard was elected to the International Academy of Astronautics , is a Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, has authored more than 50 scientific papers on research and technology and also holds the Carl Sagan Chair at the SETI Institute . His education includes an undergraduate degree in physics and astronomy at Vanderbilt University and

2156-697: The Association of Space Explorers in helping the United Nations establish the International Asteroid Warning Network , as well as a Space Missions Planning Advisory Group to provide oversight on proposed asteroid deflection missions. In 2012, the foundation announced it would design and build a privately financed asteroid-finding space observatory , the Sentinel Space Telescope , to be launched in 2017–2018. Once stationed in

2233-509: The Chelyabinsk meteor of 2013 that went undetected until its explosion over Chelyabinsk Oblast , Russia . The Sentinel Mission was planned to provide an accurate dynamic catalog of asteroids and other NEOs made available to scientists worldwide from the International Astronomical Union 's Minor Planet Center , the data collected would calculate the risk of impact events with our planet, allowing for asteroid deflection by

2310-494: The GRAPE (Gravity Pipe) project, and AMUSE. Hut's broadly interdisciplinary research started with his study of an asteroid impact to explain the demise of the dinosaurs, when he edited a review article for Nature with four paleontologists, two geologists and one other astrophysicist. He has also widely engaged in joint research with computer scientists and philosophers and cognitive psychologists. In recognition of his work, he

2387-679: The Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Asteroid 17031 Piethut is named after him, in honor of his work in planetary dynamics and for co-founding the B612 Foundation , which focuses on prevention of asteroid impacts on Earth. In the Netherlands, Hut did a double PhD program, at Utrecht University, in particle physics under Martinus Veltman and in Amsterdam in astrophysics under Ed van den Heuvel , resulting in

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2464-623: The Mars Pathfinder mission with its airbag landing system and was the manager for their highly successful Lunar Prospector Mission . Prior to joining NASA, Hubbard led a small start-up high technology company in the San Francisco Bay Area and was a staff scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory . Hubbard has received many honors including NASA's highest award, their Distinguished Service Medal , and

2541-528: The Minor Planet Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts . Given the satellite's telescopic accuracy, Sentinel's data may have proven valuable for other possible future missions, such as asteroid mining . B612 was attempting to raise approximately $ 450M to fund the development, launch and operational costs of the telescope, about the cost of a complex freeway interchange , or approximately $ 100M less than

2618-472: The Torino Scale impact hazard chart . In July 2005, B612 formally asked NASA to investigate the possibility that the asteroid's post-2029 orbit could be in orbital resonance with Earth, which would increase the likelihood of a future impact. The Foundation also asked NASA to investigate whether a transponder should be placed on the asteroid to enable more accurate tracking of how its orbit would be changed by

2695-670: The Voyager space probes program , NASA's Medal for Outstanding Leadership in 1991 for Galileo, and again in 1999 for the Cassini-Hygens mission. In 1997 Aviation Week and Space Technology presented its Laurels Award to him for outstanding achievement in the field of space. He also earned the American Astronomical Society 's 2005 Randolph Lovelace II Award for his management of all Jet Propulsion Laboratory and NASA robotic science spacecraft missions. Dr. G. Scott Hubbard

2772-631: The Yarkovsky effect . By 2008, B612 had provided estimates on a 30 kilometers-wide corridor, called a "path of risk", that would extend across the Earth's surface if an impact were to occur, as part of its effort to develop viable deflection strategies . The calculated risk-path extended from Kazakhstan across southern Russia through Siberia, across the Pacific, then right between Nicaragua and Costa Rica , crossing northern Colombia and Venezuela , and ending in

2849-511: The bomb that destroyed the city of Hiroshima during World War II. Tsunamis can also occur after a medium-sized or larger asteroid impacts an ocean surface or other large body of water. The probability of a mid-sized asteroid (similar to the one that destroyed the Tunguska River area of Russia in 1908 ) hitting Earth during the 21st century has been estimated at 30%. Since the Earth is currently more populated than in previous eras, there

2926-448: The near-Earth objects (NEOs) that can pose a threat to Earth, and to also fully develop impact avoidance capabilities. That recommended level of budgetary support would permit up to 10–20 years of advance warning in order to create a sufficient window for the required trajectory deflection. Their recommendations were made to a NASA Advisory Council, but were ultimately unsuccessful in obtaining Congressional funding due to NASA, lacking

3003-522: The ASE, worked with COPUOS since 2001 to establish international involvement for both impact disaster responses, and on deflection missions to prevent impact events. According to Foundation Chair Emeritus Rusty Schweickart in 2013, "No government in the world today has explicitly assigned the responsibility for planetary protection to any of its agencies". In October 2013, COPUOS's Scientific and Technical Subcommittee approved several measures, later approved by

3080-543: The Atlantic just before reaching Africa. At that time, a computer simulation estimated Apophis's hypothetical impact in countries, such as Colombia and Venezuela, could have resulted in more than 10 million casualties. Alternately, an impact in the Atlantic or Pacific oceans could produce a deadly tsunami over 240 metres (about 800 ft) in height, capable of destroying many coastal areas and cities. A series of later, more accurate observations of 99942 Apophis, combined with

3157-520: The B612 Foundation on October 7, 2002, with its first goal being to "significantly alter the orbit of an asteroid in a controlled manner". Schweickart became an early public face of the foundation and served as chairman on its board of directors . In 2010, as part of an ad hoc task force on planetary defense, he advocated increasing NASA's annual budget by $ 250M–$ 300 million over a 10-year period (with an operational maintenance budget of up to $ 75 million per year after that) in order to more fully catalog

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3234-476: The B612 Foundation, later serving as its Chair and in 2014 is currently its chief executive officer . Lu holds a commercial pilot license with multi-engine instrument ratings, accumulating some 1,500 hours of flight time. Among his honors are NASA's highest awards, its Distinguished Service and Exceptional Service medals , as well as the Russian Gagarin, Komorov and Beregovoy Medals . Thomas R. Gavin

3311-628: The Café closed. Piet Hut Piet Hut (born September 26, 1952) is a Dutch astrophysicist, who divides his time between research in computer simulations of dense stellar systems and broadly interdisciplinary collaborations, ranging from other fields in natural science to computer science, cognitive psychology and philosophy. He is currently the Head of the Program in Interdisciplinary Studies at

3388-424: The Earth as bolides , (fireballs), often with little notice. During an average 24-hour period, the Earth sweeps through some 100 million particles of interplanetary dust and pieces of cosmic debris, only a very minor amount of which arrives on the ground as meteorites. The larger in size asteroids or other near-Earth objects (NEOs) are, the less frequently they impact the planet's atmosphere—large meteors seen in

3465-556: The Sentinel Standing Review Team (SSRT), plus Public Relations. Edward Tsang "Ed" Lu ( Chinese : 盧傑 ; pinyin : Lú Jié ; born July 1, 1963) is a co-founder and the chief executive officer of the B612 Foundation, and as well, a U.S. physicist and a former NASA astronaut . He is a veteran of two Space Shuttle missions and an extended stay aboard the International Space Station which included

3542-809: The UN General Assembly in December, to deal with terrestrial asteroid impacts, including the creation of an International Asteroid Warning Network (IAWN) plus two advisory groups: the Space Missions Planning Advisory Group (SMPAG), and the Impact Disaster Planning Advisory Group (IDPAG). The IAWN warning network will act as a clearinghouse for shared information on dangerous asteroids and for any future terrestrial impact events that are identified. The Space Missions Planning Advisory Group will coordinate joint studies of

3619-663: The UN is needed, said Schweickart, to guide the policymakers of its member nations on several important NEO-related aspects. However, as asserted by the Foundation, the new UN measures only constitute a starting point. To be effective they will need to be enhanced by further policies and resources implemented at both the national and supernational levels. At the time of the UN's policy adoption in New York City, Schweickart and four other ASE members, including B612 head Ed Lu and strategic advisers Dumitru Prunariu and Tom Jones participated in

3696-487: The University of Maryland and co-chair of a 2009 U.S. National Research Council study on asteroid threats, plus others. The difficulty of quickly intercepting an imminent asteroid threat to Earth was made apparent during the testimony: REP. STEWART: ... are we technologically capable of launching something that could intercept [an asteroid with 2 years of advance warning]? ... DR. A'HEARN: No. If we had spacecraft plans on

3773-559: The aftermath of the February 2013 Chelyabinsk meteor explosion —where an approximate 20 metres (66 ft) asteroid entered the atmosphere undetected at about Mach 60 , becoming a brilliant superbolide meteor before exploding over Chelyabinsk, Russia —the B612 foundation experienced a "surge of interest" in its project to detect asteroids, with a corresponding increase in funding donations. After providing Congressional testimony Dr. Lu noted that

3850-454: The alteration of an asteroid's spin rate, as well as changing the orbit of one part of a binary asteroid pair. Following the seminar's round-table discussions the workshop generally agreed that the vehicle of choice (needed to deflect an asteroid) would be powered by a low-thrust ion plasma engine. Landing a nuclear-powered plasma engined pusher vehicle on the asteroid's surface was seen as promising, an early proposal that would later encounter

3927-575: The auspices of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization , which monitors the planet for nuclear explosions. Dr. Brown's UWO study used infrasound signals generated by asteroids that released more than a kiloton of TNT explosive force. The study suggested that "city-killer" type impact events similar to the Tunguska event of 1908 actually occur on average about once a century instead of every thousand years, as

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4004-685: The books already, that would take a year—I mean a typical small mission ... takes four years from approval to start to launch ... As a result of a set of hearings by the NASA Advisory Committee following the Chelyabinsk explosion in 2013, in conjunction with a White House request to double its budget, NASA's Near Earth Object Program funding was increased to $ 40.5 M/year in its FY2014 (Fiscal Year 2014) budget. It had previously been increased to $ 20.5 M/year in FY2012 (about 0.1% of NASA's annual budget at

4081-442: The concept of pseudo-synchronicity, which is now widely cited in the literature on tidal evolution of exoplanets . He co-authored a graduate textbook The Gravitational Million Body Problem , invented a mathematical sequence called Piet Hut's "coat-hanger" sequence, and has pioneered the use of virtual worlds for research and education in (astro)physics. Hut is one of the founders of the B612 Foundation , MODEST, MICA, ACS,

4158-519: The different types of natural catastrophes that can occur on our planet, asteroid strikes are the only one that the world now has the technical capability to prevent. B612 is one of several organizations to propose detailed dynamic surveys of NEOs and preventative measures such as asteroid deflection. Other groups include Chinese researchers, NASA in the United States, NEOShield in Europe, as well as

4235-405: The history and philosophy of science. Guest speakers were chosen from fields like biology , cognitive science , computer science , art history , philosophy , and sociology of science and included Geshe Thupten Jinpa , Erazim Kohák , Elisabeth Lloyd , Brian Cantwell Smith , Elizabeth Spelke , Lynn Margulis , and David Abram . In addition, from 1997 to 2005 the founders met several times

4312-709: The international Spaceguard Foundation . In December 2009 Roscosmos Russian Federal Space Agency director Anatoly Perminov proposed a deflection mission to the 325-metre-wide (1,066 ft) asteroid 99942 Apophis , which at the time had been thought to pose a risk of collision with Earth. The Foundation evolved from an informal one-day workshop on asteroid deflection strategies during October 2001, organized by Dutch astrophysicist Piet Hut along with physicist and then-U.S. astronaut Ed Lu , presented at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. Twenty researchers participated, principally from various NASA facilities plus

4389-505: The issue Schweickart was dismayed to hear from congressional staff members that, while U.S. lawmakers involved in the hearing understood the seriousness of the threat, they would likely not legislate funding for planetary defense as "making the deflection of asteroids a priority might backfire in [their] reelection campaigns". The Foundation intended to launch Sentinel in 2017–2018, with initiation of data transfer for on- Earth processing anticipated no later than 6 months afterwards. In

4466-492: The journals Science and Nature , was used to produce a short computer-animated video that was presented to the media at the Seattle Museum of Flight . The nearly one and a half minute video displayed a rotating globe with the impact points of about 25 asteroids measuring more than one, and up to 600 kilotons of blast force, that struck the Earth from 2000 to 2013 (for comparison, the nuclear bomb that destroyed Hiroshima

4543-492: The many online videos recorded of the asteroid's explosion over Chelyabinsk made a significant impact on millions of viewers worldwide, saying "There's nothing like a hundred YouTube videos to do that." In 2014 eight key staff positions were designated, covering the offices of the chief executive officer (CEO), chief operating officer (COO), Sentinel Program Architecture (SPA), Sentinel Mission Direction (SMD), Sentinel Program Management (SPM), Sentinel Mission Science (SMS) and

4620-457: The non-profit Southwest Research Institute , but as well from the University of California, University of Michigan, and the Institute for Independent Study. All were interested in contributing to the proposed creation of an asteroid deflection capability. The seminar participants included Rusty Schweickart , a former Apollo astronaut , and Clark Chapman , a planetary scientist . Among the proposed experimental research missions discussed were

4697-445: The presentation, alongside former NASA astronauts Dr. Tom Jones and Apollo 8 astronaut Bill Anders , Foundation head Ed Lu explained that the frequency of dangerous asteroid impacts hitting Earth was from three to ten times greater than previously believed a dozen or so years ago (earlier estimates had pegged the odds as one per 300,000 years). The latest reassessment is based on worldwide infrasound signatures recorded under

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4774-699: The quality of Hut's work, while others based their support on the importance of academic tenure to creative scholarship. The case was eventually settled out of court, with Hut transferring out of IAS's School of Natural Sciences while being appointed Head of a new Program in Interdisciplinary Studies. B612 Foundation The B612 Foundation is a private nonprofit foundation headquartered in Mill Valley, California , United States, dedicated to planetary science and planetary defense against asteroids and other near-Earth object (NEO) impacts . It

4851-588: The recovery of previously unseen data, revised the odds of a collision in 2036 as being virtually nil, and effectively ruled it out. B612 Foundation members assisted the Association of Space Explorers (ASE) in helping obtain United Nations (UN) oversight of NEO tracking and deflection missions through the UN's Committee On the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UN COPUOS) along with COPUOS's Action Team 14 (AT-14) expert group. Several members of B612, also members of

4928-473: The skies are extremely rare, while medium-sized ones are less so, and much smaller ones are more commonplace. Although stony asteroids often explode high in the atmosphere, some objects, especially iron-nickel meteors and other types descending at a steep angle, can explode close to ground level or even directly impact onto land or sea. In the U.S. State of Arizona , the 1,200-metre-wide (3,900 ft) Meteor Crater (officially named Barringer Crater) formed in

5005-503: The technologies for deflection missions, and as well provide oversight of actual missions. This is due to deflection missions typically involving a progressive movement of an asteroid's predicted impact point across the surface of the Earth (and also across the territories of uninvolved countries) until the NEO is deflected either ahead of, or behind the planet at the point their orbits intersect. An initial framework of international cooperation at

5082-502: The time), from an average of about $ 4 M/year between 2002 and 2010. On Earth Day , April 22, 2014, the B612 Foundation formally presented a revised assessment on the frequency of "city-killer" type impact events, based on research led by Canadian planetary scientist Peter Brown of the University of Western Ontario 's (UWO) Centre for Planetary Science and Exploration . Dr. Brown's analysis, "A 500-Kiloton Airburst Over Chelyabinsk and An Enhanced Hazard from Small Impactors", published in

5159-418: The use of gravity tractors to divert their trajectories away from Earth. In order to communicate with the spacecraft while it is orbiting the Sun (at about the same distance as Venus), which can be at times as far as 270 million kilometres (170 million miles) from Earth, the B612 Foundation entered into a Space Act Agreement with NASA for the use of their deep space telecommunication network . Sentinel

5236-557: Was a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Hawaii from 1985 to 1988. From 1988 to 1991, he worked at the Space Telescope Science Institute where he assisted in the planning of the first planetary observations made by the Hubble Space Telescope . Since 1983, Pluto and its moons have been a central theme of the research done by Buie, who has published over 85 scientific papers and journal articles. He

5313-758: Was appointed associate director for flight projects and mission success for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in May 2001. This was a new position created to provide the JPL Director's Office with oversight of flight projects. He later served as interim director for Solar System exploration. Previously, he was director of JPL's Space Science Flight Projects Directorate, which oversaw the Genesis, Mars 2001 Odyssey, Mars rovers, Spitzer Space Telescope and GALEX projects. He also served as deputy director of JPL's Space and Earth Science Programs Directorate beginning in December 1997. In June 1990 he

5390-691: Was appointed spacecraft system manager for the Cassini–Huygens mission to Saturn, and retained that position until the project's successful launch in 1997. From 1968 to 1990 he was a member of the Galileo and Voyager project offices responsible for mission assurance. He received his bachelor's degree in chemistry from Villanova University in Pennsylvania in 1961. Gavin has been honored on a number of occasions for exceptional work, receiving NASA's Distinguished and Exceptional Service Medals in 1981 for his work on

5467-439: Was constructing Sentinel's 51 cm aluminum mirror, designed for a large field of view with its infrared sensors cooled to 40  K (−233.2  °C ) using Ball's two-stage, closed-Stirling-cycle cryocooler . B612 aimed to produce its space telescope at a significantly lower cost than traditional space science programs by making use of space hardware systems previously developed for earlier programs, rather than designing

5544-619: Was designed to perform continuous observation and analysis during its planned 6 + 1 ⁄ 2 -year operational life, although B612 anticipates it may continue to function for up to 10 years. Using its 51-centimetre (20 in) telescope mirror with sensors built by Ball Aerospace (makers of the Hubble Space Telescope 's instruments), its mission would be to catalog 90% of asteroids with diameters larger than 140 metres (460 ft). There were also plans to catalog smaller Solar System objects as well. The space observatory would measure 7.7 metres (25 ft) by 3.2 metres (10 ft) with

5621-451: Was equivalent to about 16 kilotons of TNT blast force). Of those impacts between 2000 and 2013, eight of them were as large, or larger, than the Hiroshima bomb. Only one of the asteroids, 2008 TC 3 , was detected in advance , some 19 hours before exploding in the atmosphere. As was the case with the 2013 Chelyabinsk meteor , no warnings were issued for any of the other impacts. At

5698-675: Was invited to participate in various conferences, spanning a range from a workshop with the 14th Dalai Lama and five physicists in Dharamsala , India to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, and he has been invited as a member of the Husserl Circle. Hut is one of the founders of the Kira Institute . In July, 2000, IAS sued Hut in federal district court, seeking to enforce

5775-401: Was once previously believed. The 1908 event occurred in the remote, sparsely populated Tunguska area of Siberia , Russia, and is attributed to the likely airburst explosion of an asteroid or comet that destroyed some 80 million trees over 2,150 square kilometres (830 sq mi) of forests. The higher frequency of these types of events is interpreted as meaning that "blind luck" has mainly prevented

5852-659: Was responsible for overseeing the work of some 2,600 scientists, engineers and other staff. Currently on the SpaceX Safety Advisory Panel, he previously served as NASA's sole representative on the Space Shuttle Columbia Accident Investigation Board , and also as their first Mars Exploration Program director in 2000, successfully restructuring the entire Mars program in the wake of earlier serious mission failures. Hubbard founded NASA's Astrobiology Institute in 1998; conceived

5929-579: Was unsuccessful, and the program was cancelled in 2017, with the Foundation pursuing a constellation of smaller satellites instead. The B612 Foundation is named for the asteroid home of the eponymous hero of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry 's 1943 book The Little Prince . When an asteroid enters the planet's atmosphere it becomes known as a ' meteor '; those that survive and fall to the Earth's surface are then called ' meteorites '. While basketball-sized meteors occur almost daily, and compact car-sized ones about yearly, they usually burn up or explode high above

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