[meteorite-list] Congress Moves on Amateur Asteroid-Watching Bill

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Mon Mar 21 18:55:36 2005
Message-ID: <200503212355.j2LNtEd08476_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

http://www.space.com/astronotes/astronotes.html

Congress Moves on Amateur Asteroid-Watching Bill
Leonard David
space.com
March 21, 2005

The U.S. House of Representative's Science Committee on March 17 passed
a bill that would help discover near-Earth asteroids.

Passed by voice vote last week, the bill -- House Resolution 1023 (HR
1023) -- is also known as the Charles "Pete" Conrad Astronomy Awards Act
and has been championed by Congressman Dana Rohrabacher.

The bill is named for the third man to walk on the Moon. Conrad died in
1999 as the result of injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident.

The bill authorizes the NASA Administrator to establish an awards
program in honor of Conrad that flags the discoveries and contributions
made by amateur astronomers regarding asteroids with near-Earth orbit
trajectories.

Cash awards are called for in the bill, to encourage amateur astronomers
to discover and track near-Earth asteroids. An award under the program
is valued at $3,000. You have to be a citizen or permanent resident of
the United States at the time of the discovery or contribution to
receive an award under the Act.

The NASA Administrator would make awards under the program based on the
recommendations of the Minor Planet Center of the Smithsonian
Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Science Committee Chairman Sherwood Boehlert noted that the U.S. Senate
ran out of time in taking the bill up last go-round, but was optimistic
about it moving through the entire process this Congress.
Received on Mon 21 Mar 2005 06:55:14 PM PST