Vigilante asteroid hunters seek private telescope to scan for killer space rocks
July 1, 2012
Who will protect us from a killer asteroid? A team of ex-NASA astronauts and scientists thinks it’s up to them.
In a bold plan unveiled Thursday, the group wants to launch its own space telescope to spot and track small and mid-sized space rocks capable of wiping out a city or continent. With that information, they could sound early warnings if a rogue asteroid appeared headed toward our planet.
So far, the idea from the B612 Foundation is on paper only.
Such an effort would cost upward of several hundred million dollars, and the group plans to start fundraising. Behind the nonprofit are a space shuttle astronaut, Apollo 9 astronaut, former Mars czar, deep space mission manager along with other non-NASA types.
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