Astronaut Asks Congress to Investigate Threatening Asteroid

WASHINGTON, D.C. – A former NASA astronaut will call on the U.S. Congress to evaluate an asteroid with a small chance of hitting Earth in 2036 and suggest lawmakers consider a space mission to monitor the object, SPACE.com has learned.

Russell Schweickart arrives here today to make his case. He'll also ask Congress to assign to a government agency the responsibility of protecting the public from space rocks.
The call to action stems from an orbiting hunk of stone that for a few days around Christmas had scientists on the edges of their seats. The asteroid, named 2004 MN4, was found last year. It orbits the Sun but crosses the path of Earth. In December, preliminary observations showed it might strike in 2029, according to NASA scientists. It briefly had the highest odds ever assigned to a possible collision. Further investigation ruled out the 2029 impact scenario, but scientists cannot yet rule out an impact in 2036.
The odds of a collision in 2036 are about 1-in-10,000, Schweickart says.
In fact, there are several scenarios between 2034 and 2065 in which 2004 MN4 has even smaller odds of striking. Schweickart and other scientists stress, however, that future observations are likely to reduce all these odds to zero. read more>>

By Leonard David
Senior Space Writer
posted: 19 May 2005
09:59 am ET