Planetary Defense Systems: How We Protect Earth
Humanity is building the first planetary defense system to detect and deflect asteroids before they strike Earth. NASA's DART mission proved kinetic impact works, shifting asteroid Dimorphos's orbit by 32 minutes—26 times the goal. Ground and space telescopes scan for threats, while international networks coordinate response. NEO Surveyor (launching 2027-2028) will catalog hundreds of thousands of asteroids, but gaps remain: small objects, Sun-side approaches, and legal frameworks are incompl...
