On Thursday (May 15), the U.S. House Committee on Space, Science and Technology convened with scientists to discuss a rather exciting topic: What can NASA do if we identify a dangerous asteroid on a collision course with Earth? It was an especially prudent subject given all the recent fuss about asteroid 2024 YR4, which had a notable chance of hitting our planet before scientists refined its position and deemed it harmless.
Most of Thursday's conversation surrounded the agency's highly anticipated Near-Earth Object (NEO) Surveyor mission, which should greatly improve hazardous asteroid detection capabilities as a whole. However, there were also many efforts to address the elephant in the room: the Trump administration's recently announced intention to slash NASA's top-line funding by 24% for the upcoming fiscal year. The proposed cut to the agency's science programs — which includes its planetary defense work — is even deeper, at 47%.
