[meteorite-list] Agenda Set for Planetary Defense Conference To Be Held March 5-8 in Washington, D.C.

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Tue, 30 Jan 2007 08:55:22 -0800 (PST)
Message-ID: <200701301655.IAA09868_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

Contact for information and media registration for the conference:
Dave Jonta
1-310-336-5041
david.l.jonta at aero.org

Agenda Set for Planetary Defense Conference To Be Held March 5-8 in
Washington, D.C.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (January 29, 2007) - NASA Ames Research Center Director
Dr. Simon "Pete" Worden (Brig. Gen., USAF, ret.) will deliver the keynote
address on March 5 to open the second Planetary Defense Conference
organized by The Aerospace Corporation and co-sponsored by NASA, the
European Space Agency, the Planetary Society, and other organizations.

The conference, to be held March 5-8 at George Washington University in
Washington, D.C., will feature top scientists and engineers from the
international space community. They will be assessing our ability to
discover and track near-Earth objects as well as our ability to deflect an
asteroid or comet that poses a threat to Earth.

Dr. William H. Ailor, director of the Center for Orbital and Reentry
Debris Studies at The Aerospace Corporation and general chair of the
conference, pointed out that advances in space system technology and
better data on asteroids and comets means it is becoming increasingly
feasible to counter a threat to Earth.

"It is not that far-fetched to imagine that the next generation of
engineers and scientists will be called upon to deal with an asteroid
threat," he said.

Keynote speakers, besides Worden, include Dr. Michael Simpson, president
of International Space University in Strasbourg, France, space historian
William E. Burrows, who teaches at New York University, and Renee
Oosterlinck, director of external relations at the European Space Agency
and a professor at Ghent University.

Two sessions on "The Discovery and Characterization of NEOs" will be held
on March 5, one chaired by Dr. David Morrison of NASA Ames and one chaired
by Dr. Donald K. Yeomans of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. These
sessions will examine the state of our knowledge about asteroids and
comets and activities planned to improve our understanding.

A session on "Deflection Techniques," chaired by Dr. David K. Lynch of The
Aerospace Corporation, and a session on "Deflection Missions and
Technology," chaired by Dr. Gianmarco Radice of the University of Glasgow,
will be held on March 6. These two sessions will explore explosive and
non-explosive techniques for deflecting a threatening object and issues
associated with executing a mission, including the central question: "Can
we get there with today's technology?"

The March 7 program will feature a session on "Impact and Effects,"
chaired by Dr. Clark Chapman of Southwest Research Institute, and a
session on "Preparing the Public," chaired by Prof. Caron Chess of Rutgers
University. The first session will focus on the consequences of an
asteroid or comet impact, and the second on how the public and disaster
relief agencies might react to an impact or the threat of an impact.

A political and policy panel discussion will be held on March 8. Prof.
Richard Crowther of Rutherford Appleton Laboratories in the UK will
moderate the discussion. This session will highlight non-technical issues
associated with developing a worldwide mitigation capability and executing
a response should a serious threat be detected.

"Some believe that all of this is science fiction," Ailor stated, "but we
know that an asteroid (Apophis) 300 meters in diameter, large enough to
cause serious damage, will pass within 20,000 miles of Earth - closer than
our weather satellites - in 2029, and an impact by the same asteroid in 2036
cannot be ruled out. This conference will help improve our readiness
should we need to defend our planet in the future."

Panel session findings and recommendations will be presented at the close
of the conference, meant to build on results of the inaugural event, held
in Anaheim, Calif., in Feb. 2004.
Received on Tue 30 Jan 2007 11:55:22 AM PST