Weekend Editorial Reading/Summary

NASA: Guardians of Earth

Dominic Basulto is a futurist and blogger based in New York City. He poses an interesting topic in his Washington Post Article, "How NASA’s Planetary Defense Officer Will Protect Earth from Asteroids." Basulto opens his article with the notion that over the years many odd and peculiar job titles have floated to the surface. but  "Planetary Defense Officer" beats them all. This new NASA position will govern over all programs designed to protect our planet against unwanted visitors, namely asteroids and comets. These large, sometimes Earth bound rocks have gained the world's attention due to films such as "Armageddon." Basulto continues to argue that this new position is one that needs to be taken seriously and I have to side with him. These natural objects have huge potential to cause a devastating extinction event on Earth. Basulto supports his claim by stating, "The creation of the office is not just idle speculation or a bit of whimsy on NASA’s behalf. According to NASA, nearly 1,500 near-Earth objects are detected each year. To date, more than 13,500 near-Earth objects have been discovered, with 95 percent of them having been discovered after NASA officially began tracking them in 1998. In fiscal year 2016, NASA has a budget of $50 million for observation of such objects and planetary defense, up more than tenfold since 2010, when NASA’s program operated on a budget of $4 million." As our technology and knowledge grow, it is essential to focus a portion of it on the protection of our home.