NASA has stated that the agency is not having enough funds that can be put to scan the solar system for potentially dangerous asteroids.
The cost of finding at least 90% of the 20,000 hazardous asteroids and comets by 2020 would be about $1 billion.
NASA also stated that the agency knows what to do the only problem is that they lack the required funds.
According to NASA any asteroid that is bigger than 460 feet in diameter poses a threat to Earth. Even if they miss Earth they can explode in mid air above Earth due to the extreme temperature that it reaches due to friction and air resistance. This explosion will cause a giant shock wave and the effects would be really bad. This explosion will have the power of 100 million tons of dynamite and will wipe out an entire state.
The agency is also tracking bigger objects that are more than 3,300 feet in diameter. Such asteroids and comets can completely wipe out all life forms on Earth, an event similar to the one that led to the extinction of dinosaurs some 65 million years ago.
NASA is the only agency and US is the only government that are doing some work on this ever lurking danger to the human civilization.
NASA has developed many solutions for this hunt and out of them most has been rejected. One solution is to develop a ground telescope with the cost of $800 million. Another option is much faster and makes use of a space telescope that can be developed by spending $1.1 billion. But according to NASA the White House called both these choices stating that they are too expensive.
Another cheaper option is to simply piggyback on other agencies telescopes, a cost of about $300 Million which also has been rejected.
NASA stated that the only problem is that they just can’t do anything about it right now.
Earth already got a scare in 2004 when the initial readings suggested that an 885-foot asteroid is on a collision course with Earth and may strike in 2029. But further research revealed that it has just 1-in-45,000 chance that it could hit in 2036.
With no money NASA can no longer find any incoming danger and prevent this planet from a space battlefield.
Via: physorg
