[meteorite-list] Asteroid Danger Bugs Rohrabacher

[Ron Baalke]

http://www.presstelegram.com/Stories/0,1413,204~21474~2909263,00.html

Asteroid danger bugs Rohrabacher

Local Rep. appeals to NASA, urges strategy.

By Lisa Friedman
Press Telegram
June 7, 2005

WASHINGTON -- The sky is falling, and a Long Beach congressman wants the
government to do something about it.

In direct appeals this week to NASA Chief Michael Griffin and others,
Republican Rep. Dana Rohrabacher said he will urge U.S. leaders to take
seriously the threat of an asteroid hitting the Earth, and designate
responsibility for defending against such an occurrence.

"Right now, now one knows if there was an object headed from space that
could cause millions of people to lose their lives, who would be
responsible,' Rohrabacher said.

Added former Apollo astronaut Rusty Schweickart, "I'm sure that 90
percent of the people of the world think NASA has it. It does not.'

Schweickart, who runs a nonprofit in Tiburon, Calif., dedicated to
asteroid deflection, said there is a "100 percent chance' the Earth will
be hit by an asteroid in the future.

"When, that's the question,' he said. "It may not happen for 1,000 years
or it may happen tomorrow.'

NASA scientists believe one asteroid known as 2004 MN4 has a roughly 1
in 14,000 chance of smashing into Earth when it comes around in 2036.
Schweickart said of the estimated 300,000 asteroids, scientists know
only of about 3,000.

Of making some U.S. agency responsible for protecting the Earth from an
oncoming smash, he added, "We need to do this now, not after we have
discovered one.'

Currently, NASA is in charge of tracking and spotting asteroids but
neither it nor the Department of Defense is tasked with doing anything
about a looming one. Officials with the Jet Propulsion Lab did not
return a call by press time.

Both Schweickart and Rohrabacher denied promoting the creation of an
entirely new federal agency to fend off asteroids, as an online
technology magazine had reported.

"Basically, we're asking the new director of NASA to tell us who they
believe should be the agency with primary responsibility,' said
Rohrabacher, who also represents parts of Orange County.

Added Schweickart, "In no way do I want a new agency to be created. That
would be a complete and total waste of government money.'