Abstrakt
Planetary Defense (PD) entails the technical means for mitigating asteroid impact threat and building a viable political framework to arrive at a reliable state of readiness to defend Earth from extraterrestrial impactors. This is an advocacy paper combining pragmatic arguments based on current, effective and reliable technologies.
Short and long-term scenarios to create the essential global defense structures are discussed. Based on such a premise, an acceptable policy solution for all states might be possible.
In the first step, we propose to identify existing systems within the nuclear-military-industrial complex as well as those in the civilian domain that might be deployed immediately to set up and conduct a series of exercises showcasing the limits of our current capabilities for PD. Next, we propose and visualize a near-term goal in setting up a globally responsive PD network (fire-station analogue) based on an intergovernmental model under the current political institutional umbrella of the United Nations International Asteroid Warning Network (IAWN) and Space Mission Planning Advisory Group (SMPAG).
Each nation with a PD office would take cooperative action under UN coordination. In this model, a network of PD sites are deployed around the world; based on Earth in the respective territories of participating states.
Such a model contributes to Transparency and Confidence Building Measures (TCBM) through cooperation on technology development, data sharing, specialists exchange and mitigation infrastructure. In the following step, we propose and visualize to evolve a multipurpose facility on the far side of the Moon, which benefits from the intergovernmental experience and the well rooted confidence from TCBM foundations laid earlier.
The base could be used for a variety of applications across scientific, commercial, transportation and defense sectors.