WHAT WE DO


JOINRENEWJOIN

Your 2012 Year in Space Calendar
  

Projects

Asteroids - The Potential Threat



Target Earth Update: Planetary Society Researcher Discovers Largest Impact Crater in South America It was January of 2004 when the elegant curve of the Vichada first caught the attention of geologist Max Rocca of Buenos Aires. Could it be that the course of the river was shaped by the circular outlines of an impact crater? Rocca decided to find out.
read more>>.

We Live in a Busy Solar System!

The Planetary Society is dedicated to finding, tracking, and eventually deflecting dangerous near-Earth objects (NEOs). Our comprehensive NEO program involves a variety of NEO projects supported by The Planetary Society, including the Apophis Mission Design Competition, the Gene Shoemaker Near Earth Object Grants, NEO research advocacy, and our "Mirror Bees" study for deflecting a hazardous asteroid.

The tracking of near-Earth objects has been a priority for The Planetary Society since its inception. Of more than a quarter-million dollars donated by the Society to NEO research over the years, more than half has come in the form of Shoemaker NEO Grants to amateur observers. One of the grant's recipients, Roy Tucker from Arizona, co-discovered Apophis, the 300-meter-diameter asteroid that will make a spectacularly close passage by our planet in 2029 and again in 2036.

"The solar system is a busy place, said Louis Friedman, Executive Director of The Planetary Society. "We live in a dangerous neighborhood, and keeping track of NEOs is like organizing a neighborhood watch in our corner of space."

By funding researchers who discover and track asteroids, advocating greater NEO research funding by the government, and helping spur the development of possible ways to avert disaster should a potentially dangerous asteroid be discovered, The Planetary Society is leading the charge.

Help us find, track, and deflect dangerous asteroids.