In 2005, the United States Congress laid out a clear mandate: To protect our civilization and perhaps our very species, by 2020, the nation should be able to detect, track, catalog, and characterize no less than 90 percent of all near-Earth objects at least 140 meters across.
Even if we did have a full census of all threatening space rocks, we do not have the capabilities to rapidly respond to an Earth-intersecting asteroid.
Some day in the finite future, an object will pose a threat to us-it's an inevitability of life in our Solar System. But it's not too late to do something about it, though it will take work.
The dangers of near-Earth asteroids are numerous, with over 34,000 recorded by the International Astronomical Union's Minor Planet Center. These NEAs are among the most likely threats due to their proximity to Earth.
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