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Defending Planet Earth from Asteroid and Comet Strikes (w/ Video)

University of Maryland Astronomy Professor Michael A'Hearn, leader of NASA's Deep Impact and EPOXI comet missions is vice-chair of a new report from the National Academy of Sciences on detecting and protecting Earth from collisions with comets and asteroids. In the report, "Defending Planet Earth: Near-Earth Object Surveys and Hazard Mitigation Strategies," the panel says NASA cannot meet a Congressional requirement to find 90 percent of Earth-threatening asteroids 155 yards in diameter or larger, unless money is appropriated for the task.