Near Earth Objects Overview of the NEO Observation Program

1. Near Earth ObjectsOverview of the NEO Observation Program Lindley Johnson Planetary Science Division NASA HQ 21 June 2012

2. NEO Observation Program US component to International Spaceguard Survey effort Has provided 99% of new detections of NEOs since 1998 Began with NASA commitment to House Committee on Science in May, 1998 • Averaged ~$4M/year Research funding 2002-2010 • 400% plus-up to $20M in President’s 2012 budget submittal Scientific Objective: Discover 90% of NEOs larger than 1 kilometer in size within 10 years (1998 – 2008) NASA Authorization Act of 2005 provided additional direction) “…plan, develop, and implement a Near-Earth Object Survey program to detect, track, catalogue, and characterize the physical characteristics of near-Earth objects equal to or greater than 140meters in diameter in order to assess the threat of such near-Earth objects to the Earth. It shall be the goal of the Survey program to achieve 90 percent completion of its near-Earth object catalogue within 15 years [by 2020].

3. Catalina Sky Survey UofAZ Arizona & Australia LINEAR MIT/LL Soccoro, NM NASA’s NEO Search Program(Current Systems) NEO-WISE JPL Sun-synch LEO • Minor Planet Center (MPC) • IAU sanctioned • Int’l observation database • Initial orbit determination • www.cfa.harvard.edu/iau/mpc.html • NEO Program Office @ JPL • Program coordination • Precision orbit determination • Automated SENTRY • http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/ End of Operations Feb 2011, Analysis Of Data Continues Pan-STARRS Uof HI Haleakula, Maui

4. Known Near Earth Asteriod Population Start of NASA NEO Program

5. Known Near Earth Asteroid Population

6. Iterate Survey Systems Minor Planet Center JPL NEO Office* * In parallel with NEODyS Spaceguard Survey Catalog ProgramCurrent Spaceguard Survey Infrastructure and Process Publish/ Update Results Survey, Detect, & Report Observations and Update Orbit Correlate, Determine Rough Orbit Radar Possible New PHO? • Alerts to NASA HQ • MPC - PHO of interest • MPC -possible close approach • JPL - reports potential for impact • JPL -publishes probability of impact No Resolve Result Differences Publish Results Routine Processing Publish Results Yes Yes Potential Impact? Impact Still Possible? No No Precision Orbit and Follow Up Observations Yes

7. Catalina Sky Survey UofAZ Arizona & Australia LINEAR MIT/LL Soccoro, NM NASA’s NEO Search Program(Current Systems) NEO-WISE JPL Sun-synch LEO • Minor Planet Center (MPC) • IAU sanctioned • Int’l observation database • Initial orbit determination • www.cfa.harvard.edu/iau/mpc.html • NEO Program Office @ JPL • Program coordination • Precision orbit determination • Automated SENTRY • http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/ End of Operations Feb 2011, Analysis Of Data Continues • Not Shown – “Follow-up” Projects: • Several Professional Observatories provide critical data to secure orbits • Numerous Amateur Astronomers worldwide provide high-precision observations to fill critical gaps Pan-STARRS Uof HI Haleakula, Maui

8. Radar Studies Observations on the limited accessible objects • 20 to 30 NEOs/year from Goldstone and Arecibo • Required for timely precision orbit determination • Characterization with sufficient signal strength • Shape, spin-state, surface structure • Satellites (an then derived mass) Study of Shape, Size, Motion and Mass of 66391 (1999 KW4) Shape, Size of 6489 Golevka

9. 2005 YU55 Approach to Earth Nov. 8, 2011 C-type asteroid Diameter ~400 meters Earth & Moon close approach Extensive radar, visual and infrared observations were obtained.

10. Radar Rotation Study of 2005 YU55

11. Arecibo Observes Newly Discovered 2012 LZ 2012 LZ1 was discovered 10 June 2012 by Siding Spring Observatory in Australia. Classified as a potentially hazardous by the Minor Planet Center because its orbit brings it close to Earth (within 20 lunar distances). Arecibo observed this asteroid on 19 June 2012 to measure its orbit more precisely, and to determine its size, rotation rate and shape. 2012 LZ1 is twice as large as originally estimated based on its brightness, large enough to have serious global consequences if it were to hit the Earth. However, the new orbit solution based on radar measurements shows that this object does not have any chance of hitting the Earth for at least the next 750 years. 2012 LZ1 was found to be about 1 kilometer (0.6 miles) in its largest dimension. It must be quite dark, reflecting only 2-4% of the light that hits it. The image shows that it is fairly spherical and rotates in about 10-15 hours. Image was taken when the asteroid was 10 million kilometers (6 million miles) away, and the resolution is 7.5 m (25 feet).

12. FY2012 Budget Allocation

13. Future Survey Capabilities

14. Space SurveillanceTelescope • DARPA funded project • Designed and built by MIT/LL • Same division as LINEAR • Located Atom Peak, WSMR, NM • 3.6 meter primary mirror • First Light was Feb 2011 • Started 1 year of checkout • Eventual operations by AFSPC • First of 3 to 4 worldwide sites • Serendipitous detection of NEOs in background mode to space surveillance

15. Near Term Impact Warning Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System –ATLAS*: A project to patrol the entire night sky every night in search of incoming asteroids A geographically dispersed network (> 6 sites) of small coupled telescopes observing “shallow but wide” to provide more complete sky coverage for warning of near-term impact threats Proposed ATLAS telescope design *Courtesy University of Hawaii Institute for Astronomy

16. Large Synoptic Survey Telescope A National Science Foundation Project • 6.4-m effective diameter • 10 sq deg field of view • ugrizy optical filters • 18,000 square degrees ++ • 2x15s exposures + 2 more within 60 minutes • Survey entire visible sky every 3-4 days in 2 filters for 10 years Initial Operations 2019?

17. Various NEO Survey Telescope Concepts • A NEO survey telescope will discover highly accessible NEO targets suitable for human exploration in a timely manner. • Optimized for detection of objects in Earth-like orbits within two years of launch • Launch ready in 4 to 5 years with low risk • The survey will include follow-up of all detected objects, plus characterization (size, rotation rate) of selected objects.

19. Space-based “Sentinel”Concept Spitzer X ≈ NASA has signed a Space Act Agreement to support B612 Project Sentinel Kepler “Sentinel”