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Showing Original Post only (View all)House committee to hold hearing on asteroid threat [View all]
Source: The Hill
The House Science, Space and Technology Committee will hold a hearing on how to better identify and address asteroids that pose a potential threat to Earth, Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) said in a statement on Friday.
The announcement comes after a meteorite exploded in a massive blast above Siberia that damaged buildings, houses and cars and injured about 1,000 people on Friday.
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Todays events are a stark reminder of the need to invest in space science, Smith said. Asteroid 2012 DA14 passed just 17,000 miles from Earth, less than the distance of a round trip from New York to Sydney. And this morning, a much smaller meteorite hit near the Russian city of Chelyabinsk, damaging buildings and injuring hundreds."
"Developing technology and research that enable us to track objects like Asteroid 2012 DA14 is critical to our future," Smith said. "We should continue to invest in systems that identify threatening asteroids and develop contingencies, if needed, to change the course of an asteroid headed toward Earth.
Read more: http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/283427-house-committee-to-hold-hearing-on-asteroids-that-pose-a-potential-threat-to-earth