Near Earth Object Program

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Near Earth Object Program coordinates NASA sponsored work to detect, track and catalogue asteroids and comets that could approach Earth near enough to be hazardous.

The NEO Program goal is to locate 90% or more of the asteroids and comets that are larger than 1 kilometer in diameter by the end of 2020. There are an estimated 1,000 such asteroids and comets.

The NEO Program also supports and initiates communications within the community of astronomers and the public in the event that any potentially hazardous objects are discovered.

In the USA, initial attempts at coordinating efforts by the US Government to ascertain threat from NEOs are credited to Representative George E. Brown Jr. who chaired the House Science and Technology Committee in the 1990s. In 1991, Brown initiated Congressional request of NASA to investigate NEO hazards. Following the 1994 impact of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 into Jupiter, Brown’s Committee asked NASA to accelerate Program Spaceguard to locate 90% of NEOs larger than 1 kilometer within ten years.

Near Earth Object Search Programs

The NEO Search Programs include various groups within NASA and external to track, detect, analyse and catalogue NEOs. Cooperating agencies in other coutnries include Australia, Italy and Japan.