Rusty Schweickart

T Astronauts point to next frontier: Stopping killer asteroids

For most people, going into outer space would be enough of a claim to fame — but the way astronaut Rusty Schweickart sees it, saving the world from killer asteroids is far more significant. "Apollo and Skylab were great experiences for me personally, but my NEO...

UN aims to fight asteroids, creates a global warning network

Even the United Nations is taking the threat of asteroids hitting our planet seriously. Last week, the U.N. General Assembly approved measures to coordinate detection and response to asteroid strikes that could level cities and possibly destroy our civilization. Specifically, the agency voted to create an International...

UN Mulls Plan to Defend Against Earth-Demolishing Asteroids

If scientists were to discover, later this week, that an asteroid large enough to destroy the Earth will smash into the planet in a years’ time, humanity would have only one course of action, says former astronaut Russell Schweickart: “Make yourself a nice cocktail and...

UN Mounts Asteroid Defense Plan Following ‘Bad Luck’ Of Chelyabinsk Meteor

Astronomers have warned that our planet is long overdue for a defense plan against catastrophic asteroid collisions. When it comes to deflecting Earth-obliterating celestial bodies, short of a superhero capable of punching the approaching rock back into outer space, there is no single force dedicated...

Asteroid Defense Plan Overdue, Astronauts Say; UN Now Preparing For Impact

Fears about an "Armageddon"-like space rock collision have prompted the United Nations to create an International Asteroid Warning Group and a plan for deflecting an incoming asteroid. Respected scientist-astronauts have been saying it for years: We need to prepare. But before the UN General Assembly approved...

Defending Earth from Asteroids with Neil deGrasse Tyson

The Exploding Asteroid Threat WATCH LIVE: Defending Earth From Asteroids On October 25, 2013, a panel of astronauts and cosmonauts discussed the asteroid threat and what we can do to prevent impacts and injury. Moderated by Neil deGrasse Tyson, this panel was hosted by the American Museum of...

Detecting and Deflecting a Killer Asteroid

The explosion over Chelyabinsk, Russia this past February made the danger of asteroids loud and clear. Although it is only 17 meters (56 feet) in diameter, the asteroid's explosion injured 1000 people and shattered nearly every window in the Russian city. And humans know of...

B612 Team Involved in Deflecting Deadly Asteroids

Over a million of these NEAs have the power to inflict damage a thousand times more powerful than the atomic bomb, dropped on Hiroshima during the Second World War. Alarmingly, the Tunguska event that took place in 1908 was the largest recorded impact event, as...