Planetary Defense: Global Collaboration for Defending Earth from Asteroids and Comets (Space and Society)

Planetary defense from near-Earth objects such as asteroids is a far more nuanced and challenging topic than it might seem. Each day, technology is making it easier to detect asteroid impact threats in advance, but at present, there is still no easy way to design and implement any form of global defense. This book examines how various asteroid deflection methods can change global political affairs. The authors believe that the final policy for potential Earth impacts should be based on practical engineering solutions and innovative architectural structures, while at the same time reflecting the most recent political science contributions in ethical security studies and security cosmopolitanism. Their focus is not limited to effective engineering solutions, but rather extends to how such proposals resonate in possible political structures of the future. Planetary defense cannot be achieved with technology alone; the chapters in this volume highlight the issues that arise when space science and technology intersect with political science. This complex interdisciplinary project not only demands global participation and collaboration, but also proposes the way we can achieve it. The authors explore various concepts of governance and their far-reaching implications for planetary defense and vice versa--how scientific progress in Solar System observations and asteroid collision engineering influence political science and put pressure on the international legal framework. The text is intentionally written for a diverse scholarly and diplomatic audience in a style accessible to non-specialists and practitioners and can be read by those across diverse disciplinary backgrounds.-- Provided by publisher Front Matter ....Pages i-xxxv Introduction: Planetary Defense as the Unique Historical Opportunity to Shape Our Shared Destiny (Nikola Schmidt)....Pages 1-12 Front Matter ....Pages 13-13 The Cosmic Impact Hazard (David Morrison)....Pages 15-32 What Are NEOs and the Technical Means and Constraints of Solar System Mapping? (William Crowe)....Pages 33-48 Methods, Means and Governance of NEO Observation (Peter Vereš, Nikola Schmidt)....Pages 49-70 Technical Architecture to Deepen Our Solar System Awareness (Peter Vereš)....Pages 71-93 Vision of Perfect Observation Capabilities (Peter Vereš)....Pages 95-112 Overview of Active Planetary Defense Methods (David Morrison)....Pages 113-121 NASA NEO Deflection Application: Current Capabilities and Limitations (Nahum Melamed)....Pages 123-138 Near-Earth Objects and the United Nations (Romana Kofler, Daniel Garcia Yarnoz, Martin Staško)....Pages 139-150 A Consideration of a National Approach: The US Planetary Impact Emergency Response Working Group (PIERWG); A Joint Effort Between NASA and FEMA (Leviticus A. Lewis)....Pages 151-162 Front Matter ....Pages 163-163 Evolution of Security Studies and the Resulting Perspectives of an Asteroid Threat (Nikola Schmidt)....Pages 165-179 Asteroid Impact Risk Assessment: Rationalizing the Threat (Clemens M. Rumpf)....Pages 181-203 Uncertainty and Risk at the Catastrophe Threshold (Mark Boslough)....Pages 205-215 Conceptualizing the Asteroid Threat and Searching for a Balanced Answer Between Effectiveness and Desirability (Nikola Schmidt)....Pages 217-230 Weapons of Mass Protection? Rogue Asteroids, Nuclear Explosions in Space, and the Norms of Global Nuclear Order (Michal Smetana)....Pages 231-244 Dilemmas for Planetary Defense Posed by the Current International Law Framework (Nikola Schmidt, Martin Švec)....Pages 245-260 ‘No Conscience of Its Own’: The Need for Global Space Ethics Review (Evie Kendal)....Pages 261-274 The Conundrum of Commercial Space (Carlos Manuel Entrena Utrilla)....Pages 275-286 Front Matter ....Pages 287-287 The Overview Effect and Planetary Defense (Frank White)....Pages 289-298 Cosmopolitan Rationale for Planetary Defense (Nikola Schmidt)....Pages 299-313 Dawn of Cosmopolitan Order? The New Norm of Responsibility to Defend Earth and the Planetary Council (Nikola Schmidt, Petr Boháček)....Pages 315-338 Global Space Governance and Planetary Defense Mechanisms (Joseph N. Pelton)....Pages 339-355 New Enemy, Old Pact? Past Defense Pacts and Future Planetary Defense Treaty (Tomáš Bruner)....Pages 357-374 Why a World State Is Unavoidable in Planetary Defense: On Loopholes in the Vision of a Cosmopolitan Governance (Pavel Dufek)....Pages 375-399 The Moon Base as a Commercial Hub (Carlos Manuel Entrena Utrilla)....Pages 401-417 The Multipurpose Lunar Base as a First-Line Biosphere Defense and as a Gateway to the Universe (Nikola Schmidt, Carlos Manuel Entrena Utrilla, Petr Boháček, Jackelynne Silva-Martinez, Pete Worden)....Pages 419-452 Will Planetary Defense Change a Realist World? (James J. Wirtz)....Pages 453-460 Back Matter ....Pages 461-475