The Peril and Profit of Near-Earth Objects

Near-Earth objects present both an existential threat to human civilization and an extraordinary opportunity to help our exploration and expansion across the solar system. The risk of a sudden, civilization-altering collision with an asteroid or comet has markedly diminished in recent decades due to diligent astronomical surveys, but a significant level of danger persists. At the same time, remarkable strides have been made in advancing technologies that pave the way for a new vision of space exploration - one that entails missions and outposts within the inner solar system fueled by resources extracted from asteroids, starting with the most accessible near-Earth objects. These objects contain exploitable extraterrestrial resources delivered to the inner solar system by gravitational perturbations from the planets. And they have been naturally preprocessed into objects the ideal size for industrial operations.

Speaker: Dr. Robert Jedicke from the University of Hawaii's Institute for Astronomy

Editor's Note: The Astronomy Society of the Pacific website was in error when it said the venue is closed for renovation.  The event will be held in person at Smithwick Theater.