Two things are needed now. We need a robust interim earth-based/near-earth observation program that fills a gap between now and when a B-612 Sentinel Asteroid Finder is finally commissioned and finding NEAs left and right.
The B612 Foundation has a much better chance of capturing its needed funding if it supports the ground based program now. Yes, we could probably wait until the Sentinel is operational and does all the work but this involves humans and creating the impetus to fund it. A ground program can create the impetus. B612 should not talk as if Sentinel should be at the exclusion of all else. That is what I have heard. Yes, Sentinel is the cost of construction of a freeway overpass. The Bill Gates of the world are giving to some really important problems related to World hunger, disease, over-population that also lead to conflicts and that all can make finding a city buster NEA a moot point.
Still if this is a co-operative that leads to funding by nations, small and large contributors, it is a great mission to safeguard the planet for all time and make Near-Earth Asteroids simply a raw material to serve the whims of mankind.
Before Sentinel starts looking, at the moment, the Monsoon season in Arizona shuts down the World’s search for NEAs! Also, the only observations in the southern observatory ended in July when Siding Spring Observatory’s funding dried up!! So, if you simply watched the list of detected NEAs near the Earth between June and September of this year, there weren’t any!!! Not because they weren’t there, it was because no one was looking. Pretty bad. We need to fund Sentinel development and we need to fund a reasonably funded Earth-based program, now.
Two things are needed now. We need a robust interim earth-based/near-earth observation program that fills a gap between now and when a B-612 Sentinel Asteroid Finder is finally commissioned and finding NEAs left and right.
The B612 Foundation has a much better chance of capturing its needed funding if it supports the ground based program now. Yes, we could probably wait until the Sentinel is operational and does all the work but this involves humans and creating the impetus to fund it. A ground program can create the impetus. B612 should not talk as if Sentinel should be at the exclusion of all else. That is what I have heard. Yes, Sentinel is the cost of construction of a freeway overpass. The Bill Gates of the world are giving to some really important problems related to World hunger, disease, over-population that also lead to conflicts and that all can make finding a city buster NEA a moot point.
Still if this is a co-operative that leads to funding by nations, small and large contributors, it is a great mission to safeguard the planet for all time and make Near-Earth Asteroids simply a raw material to serve the whims of mankind.
Before Sentinel starts looking, at the moment, the Monsoon season in Arizona shuts down the World’s search for NEAs! Also, the only observations in the southern observatory ended in July when Siding Spring Observatory’s funding dried up!! So, if you simply watched the list of detected NEAs near the Earth between June and September of this year, there weren’t any!!! Not because they weren’t there, it was because no one was looking. Pretty bad. We need to fund Sentinel development and we need to fund a reasonably funded Earth-based program, now.