The US National Science and Technology Council has updated the country’s plan to deal with potentially dangerous asteroids. Earlier this month, the Council released a 38-page document outlining six goals for federal agencies to strengthen our ability to detect, track and develop technologies to deflect dangerous near-Earth objects (NEOs) and improve international preparedness for such events.

According to the report, millions of tiny objects orbiting the Sun pass relatively close to Earth’s orbital plane. Most of these rocks enter Earth’s atmosphere but burn up before they reach the ground. The main concern is NEOs 33 feet (10 meters) or larger, as asteroids of this size tend to have a fairly strong impact.

The report states that the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory estimates there are about 1,000 NEOs greater than 0.6 miles (1 kilometer). Space rocks of this size can cause serious damage if they hit Earth, leaving about 5% of the NEO population unaware.

From there, the numbers increase as the objects get smaller. The smaller the size class, the higher its abundance and undetectability. About 25,000 potentially hazardous NEOs greater than 460 ft (140 m) are currently monitored, along with approximately 230,000 in the 165 ft (50 m) class; Less than 8% of this latter group is currently being watched. Additionally, there are millions of tiny objects that “could cause some damage to the surface” if they survived their atmospheric descent, according to the report.

Fortunately, none of the major NEOs currently under human surveillance are expected to come close enough to the planet to cause a collision. Currently, the closest pass from a dangerous NEO to Earth is expected in 2029, when the 335-metre-wide (335 m) asteroid Apophis will fly within 19,635 miles (31,600 km) of the planet’s surface.

It’s almost like a bullet is hooked. For comparison, the Moon orbits Earth at an average distance of 240,000 miles (385,000 km).

As such, the approach of Apophis by 2029 will be quite eventful, and the updated plan to protect the planet requires the aerospace and defense industries to take advantage of the asteroid’s transit. The report said Apophis offers “an incidental opportunity to further advance Earth’s planetary defense through technology demonstrations and international cooperation.” But the real threat is the countless NEOs we don’t know about.

In response to the threat of an unexpected collision and the increased technological capacity to deal with it, the United Nations Space Agency established the International Asteroid Warning Network (IAWN) and the Space Mission Planning Advisory Group (SMPAG) in 2014. To consolidate global observations to increase WMD awareness and protect the planet. NASA did the same in 2016 when it created a Planetary Defense Coordination Office (PDCO) dedicated to NEOs.

The six action plan objectives listed in the updated action plan include improved detection, more accurate tracking and characterization, and technological advances in NEO deflection. The two objectives are towards international cooperation and global emergency procedures. Another call calls for United States federal agencies (such as NASA and the Space Force) to continue their interagency efforts focused on planetary defense projects aimed at preventing potential threats to Earth.

NASA’s Dual Asteroid Redirect Test (DART) project was a project with the same purpose. The DART mission successfully crashed a probe into an asteroid in September 2022 to demonstrate the ability of space rock to change its trajectory. The action plan also highlights future programs such as the Vera S. Rubin Observatory and the NEO Surveyor space telescope that will help us monitor potentially dangerous asteroids.