GCRI Executive Director Seth Baum gave a talk titled “Accounting For Violent Conflict Risk In Planetary Defense Decisions” at the 2019 International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) Planetary Defense Conference in Washington, D.C. Baum’s talk looked at the relationship between efforts to protect the Earth from the impact of near-Earth objects (NEOs) and the risk of violent conflict. Richard A. Lovett wrote about Baum’s talk and about the discussion of planetary defense decisions at the conference in Cosmos.
The Planetary Defense Conference was in the news because of a tabletop exercise it conducted simulating an asteroid impact scenario. In his keynote address, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine warned of potentially catastrophic consequences if more is not done to mitigate NEO risk. “We know for a fact that the dinosaurs did not have a space program,” Bridenstine said. “But we do, and we need to use it.”
Image credit: NASA
