Excerpt: “Asteroids and comets that orbit the Sun and come within 30 million miles of the Earth’s orbit are known as near-Earth objects (NEO). Every day nearly 50 tons of meteors—small pieces of NEOs up to only a few meters across—fall on the Earth. Although most meteors disintegrate before reaching the planet’s surface, objects larger than 10 meters (about 33 feet) in diameter may survive descent, hit the ground, and cause destruction in and around the impact site. … In this audit, we assessed the effectiveness of NASA’s implementation and management of its planetary defense strategy. Specifically, we evaluated the Agency’s progress in achieving national planetary defense strategic goals and determined whether there were opportunities for NASA to strengthen its ability to meet them. To accomplish our objectives, we reviewed NASA documents, peer-reviewed literature, conference papers, scientific white papers, industry articles, research databases, and technical publications identified by NASA officials, scientists, and other experts. We also interviewed senior leaders in NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, PDCO personnel, project managers, and personnel at several ground-based telescope observatories.”
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