The 1st IAA Planetary Defense Conference: Protecting Earth from Asteroids, co-sponsored by the European Space Agency, is the follow-on to two previous planetary defense conferences held in 2004 in Los Angeles and 2007 in Washington, D.C. Details on the 2004 and 2007 conferences can be found on: http://www.planetarydefense.info.

Objectives of the conference

The 2009 meeting will bring together worldwide experts to discuss:

• Detecting and tracking asteroids and comets that might be hazardous to our planet,
• Characteristics of these objects,
• Deflecting a threatening object should one be detected,
• The nature of impact disasters, and
• Political, legal and policy issues that must be considered as part of an overall mitigation strategy. 

A particular focus will be Apophis, a 300-meter asteroid that is predicted to pass within 40,000 km of Earth in 2029 and has a current probability of impacting our planet in 2036 of 1 in 45000.

At present, there are about 900 asteroids and comets that are designated Potentially Hazardous Objects (PHOs), objects that could eventually threaten Earth.  Ground-based observations are increasing this number by more than 600 per year.  Experts believe that there could be as many as 20,000 PHO objects larger than 140 meters. 

The most recent significant impact occurred in Siberia, Russia, in 1908 when an object estimated to be between 30 and 50 meters in diameter entered the atmosphere and exploded.  The blast leveled and ignited over 2000 square kilometers of forest.

Researchers have discovered evidence that a larger object exploded over Canada 18,900 years ago and that this event caused massive fires in North America that caused a 10-degree drop in the average temperature in the Northern Hemisphere for 1000 years.

Asteroids and comets are among our closest neighbours, they form part of our nearest environment in the Solar System. However we still have a great deal to learn about them. We have now some of the technologies that might be needed to prevent these objects from hitting the Earth, but what would actually be required to be sure a threatening object can be tackled? And will we see it coming? The conference will help answer these questions.

Dates and location

27, 28, 29 and 30 April 2009. Granada, Spain.

Sponsorship

Sponsors are solicited for the 2009 conference at the $2,000, $5,000, and $10,000 levels. More information

Call for papers

Papers are solicited for this conference. Technical paper abstracts (250 to 500 words in length) will be accepted electronically through the official online submission form. The deadline for receipt of abstracts is 15 December 2008. More information

For more information: See the conference web page at http://www.congrex.nl/09c04/