Hold for Release Until Presented by Witness National Aeronautics and …
https://democrats-science.house.gov/download/05/15/2025/dr-fox_-testimony&download=1
exercises, including one held earlier this month in South Africa at the International Planetary Defense Conference, allow NASA and its global partners to test the notification and emergency procedures that would be needed if an asteroid threat were ever discovered.
From Dr. Fox - Testimony2 PDF:
Statement of Dr. Nicola J. Fox
Associate Administrator, Science Mission Directorate NASA before the Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics
Committee on Science, Space, and Technology United States House of Representatives
In December 2024, NASA discovered an asteroid about the size of a 15-story building called 2024 YR4 using the ATLAS sky survey system in Chile. This asteroid continued to be monitored by NASA and the worldwide planetary defense community, who reported their observations to the NASA-funded Minor Planet Center, the international clearinghouse for small body position measurements. By the end of January, 2024 YR4 had been observed long enough for the NASA Jet Propulsion Lab’s Center for Near-Earth Object Studies to determine the asteroid had a one percent chance of Earth impact on December 22, 2032.
While a one percent chance may seem low, it is rare for an object of this size to reach such a probability. The last time this happened was in 2004 with the asteroid Apophis. One percent is also the threshold at which NASA notifies other U.S. Government agencies, and where the International Asteroid Warning Network notifies the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs for dissemination to UN member states. While NASA already had these notification procedures in place, this marked the first time they were exercised.
…NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office (PDCO), within the Science Mission Directorate, is the primary U.S. Government entity responsible for finding, tracking, and characterizing potentially hazardous NEOs. To that end, the PDCO funds researchers that use ground- and space-based assets to find, track, and better understand objects that could pose an impact threat. Under the National Strategy and Action Plan for Planetary Defense, the PDCO also collaborates with other federal agencies to guide planning in preparation for an actual impact threat.
The PDCO also chairs the International Asteroid Warning Network for NASA and participates in the European Space Agency-chaired Space Mission Planning Advisory Group – both of which are endorsed by the United Nations to help address the global asteroid impact hazard. Additionally, the PDCO works with international space agencies to simulate asteroid threats through tabletop exercises. These exercises, including one held earlier this month in South Africa at the International Planetary Defense Conference, allow NASA and its global partners to test the notification and emergency procedures that would be needed if an asteroid threat were ever discovered.
The PDCO also works to bring asteroid deflection and mitigation strategies to fruition. In 2022, NASA successfully demonstrated one method of asteroid deflection using a kinetic impactor spacecraft with its Double Asteroid Redirection Test, or “DART” mission, which intentionally crashed into an asteroid to see if we could change its orbital path in space.
…Through advanced observation networks, sophisticated modeling and analysis tools, and partnerships with scientists around the world, NASA leads the global community in planetary defense. NASA’s ability to quickly identify risks, mobilize resources, and deliver clear assessments is critical.
Continued U.S. leadership in NEO detection, tracking, and characterization ensures that the world remains prepared to detect hazardous objects early, understand their nature, and develop strategies to mitigate potential threats, turning what was once an unpredictable natural disaster into a potentially manageable and preventable risk. An asteroid impact wiped out the dinosaurs – but the dinosaurs did not have a space program. We do, and NASA will continue to discover and innovate for the benefit and safety of all.