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2019 | Book

Introduction: Planetary Defense as the Unique Historical Opportunity to Shape Our Shared Destiny Read chapter Read first chapter

Planetary Defense

Global Collaboration for Defending Earth from Asteroids and Comets

Editor: Nikola Schmidt

Publisher: Springer International Publishing

Book Series : Space and Society

Part of: Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" , Springer Professional "Technik"

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About this book

Planetary defense from near-Earth objects such as asteroids is a far more nuanced and challenging topic than it might seem. Each day, technology is making it easier to detect asteroid impact threats in advance, but at present, there is still no easy way to design and implement any form of global defense.
This book examines how various asteroid deflection methods can change global political affairs. The authors believe that the final policy for potential Earth impacts should be based on practical engineering solutions and innovative architectural structures, while at the same time reflecting the most recent political science contributions in ethical security studies and security cosmopolitanism. Their focus is not limited to effective engineering solutions, but rather extends to how such proposals resonate in possible political structures of the future.
Planetary defense cannot be achieved with technology alone; the chapters in this volume highlight the issues that arise when space science and technology intersect with political science. This complex interdisciplinary project not only demands global participation and collaboration, but also proposes the way we can achieve it. The authors explore various concepts of governance and their far-reaching implications for planetary defense and vice versa—how scientific progress in Solar System observations and asteroid collision engineering influence political science and put pressure on the international legal framework.
The text is intentionally written for a diverse scholarly and diplomatic audience in a style accessible to non-specialists and practitioners and can be read by those across diverse disciplinary backgrounds.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter
Chapter 1. Introduction: Planetary Defense as the Unique Historical Opportunity to Shape Our Shared Destiny
Abstract
This introductory chapter aims to attune the reader to the topic of planetary defense through the lens of political science. The entire volume proposes an ambitious approach, a multipurpose lunar base, but the key condition for humankind’s peaceful expansion into space is based on cosmopolitan global governance, which we argue will not emerge easily. This chapter considers several political science problems in relation to cosmopolitan thinking, from development aid criticism to perceptions of influence by individuals in global politics and the claim that the anarchy we allegedly live in is caused by states themselves. As the authors progress through discussions of political science and theoretical concepts, several questions arise as to how we can discern moral from immoral behavior in political science theory. Finally, as our requirements are constantly changing, cosmopolitan thinking shows that humanity faces three sets of problems: sharing the planet, sustaining life and developing a rulebook. This chapter lays the foundation for further theoretical argumentation throughout the whole volume, which considers these three sets of problems using a multidisciplinary lens.
Nikola Schmidt

Defining the Threat and Current Efforts

Frontmatter
Chapter 2. The Cosmic Impact Hazard
Abstract
Recognition of the hazard to life and property from impacts of comets and asteroids is currently leading to technical efforts to understand this hazard, estimate the resulting risk and plan for planetary defense. Public attention has been stimulated by the observed impact of Comet Shoemaker Levy 9 with Jupiter in 1994 and the destructive Earth impacts by small asteroids at Tunguska in 1908 and Chelyabinsk in 2013. The first task, to locate potential impactors, is well advanced, with telescopic discovery and orbit determinations for more than 15,000 near-Earth asteroids made in the past quarter century. No large asteroid has been found on an impact trajectory, but tens of thousands of small asteroids remain undiscovered. The current risk is dominated by a handful of undiscovered asteroids around 1-km diameter and by a much larger number with diameters 100–300 m. The larger task of developing technology to intercept, deflect or disburse any asteroid found to be on a collision course is much less mature. Planetary defense is an international problem, since all parts of the planet are at risk. Although at present, relatively few nations have the technology to contribute directly, broad international support for planetary defense is developing.
David Morrison
Chapter 3. What Are NEOs and the Technical Means and Constraints of Solar System Mapping?
Abstract
This chapter presents an overview of the current uses of technology to find and characterize asteroids and comets, specifically those methods used for NEOs and the inherent challenges involved. This will be followed by a summary of the present state-of-the-art of what is known and inferred about the external and internal properties of these bodies. These properties include size, material, relative velocities and distribution about the Solar System. Finally, it takes a look at what characterization programs are planned and in development, as well as possible future infrastructure that could provide improved detection and characterization capabilities.
William Crowe
Chapter 4. Methods, Means and Governance of NEO Observation
Abstract
This chapter summarizes the basics of asteroid observations and characterization, and involvement of sponsoring government agencies and other stakeholders in Solar System surveys. We discuss ground-based and space assets, and the roles of the public and private sectors. The discovery of potentially hazardous asteroids and the topic of impact mitigation attract public and media attention and motivate discussions between policymakers and stakeholders. We demonstrate that the current support and research related to NEO search is strongly biased toward NASA and the United States, lacking wider participation from other agencies and countries. Even though international collaboration in gathering and distributing observing data and orbits is freely governed by the MPC under the IAU mandate, and informal collaboration was established by IAWN under UN COPUOS, apart from policies and rules created by NASA and US federal and state authorities, other countries generally do not invest funds in or possess an interest in searching for Solar System objects, or impact mitigation.
Peter Vereš, Nikola Schmidt
Chapter 5. Technical Architecture to Deepen Our Solar System Awareness
Abstract
This chapter deals with individual assets involved in discovery of NEOs. Past, current and future surveys are described, with their diverse technical architectures and objectives. In addition to the ground-based telescopes that deliver the most discoveries, past, current and future space-based missions are presented. Current limits for discovery are defined by the aperture size of the telescope and the observing geometry and viewing angle of a telescope, with the Earth representing an obstruction that avoids looking closer to the Sun. The smallest NEOs are still discovered only incidentally; ground-based telescopes cannot reach asteroids with orbits mostly inside the Earth’s orbit. Long periodic comets remain a low-level threat. Discovery and follow-up have migrated from manual efforts and individual observers toward an automated regime and large dedicated discovery surveys, supported by software development and automated processing of large data.
Peter Vereš
Chapter 6. Vision of Perfect Observation Capabilities
Abstract
This chapter deals with the terms of discovery, orbit determination and characterization of NEOs and other Solar System objects. It discusses challenging problems related to orbit accuracy, accessibility and abundance of small NEOs, advantages and disadvantages of space-based and ground-based telescopes, and future perspectives of ideal Solar System observations. It covers what data is available, the fraction of discovered asteroids that have derived physical properties, and the expected increase in discoveries in the next decade.
Peter Vereš
Chapter 7. Overview of Active Planetary Defense Methods
Abstract
The two essential functions of planetary defense are to locate any asteroid on a collision course with Earth and to deflect or destroy it before it hits. Short-term warning and evacuation may be sufficient to protect populations from small asteroids. If active defense is required, we may either deflect the asteroid (change its orbit so that it misses the Earth or strikes in an uninhabited area such as oceans or deserts) or break it up far enough from Earth that the debris is dispersed and misses the planet. Most defense strategies involve deflection using spacecraft to intercept the asteroid, preferably several years before the predicted impact, to produce a change in its orbital period. The technologies that have been studied use kinetic impactors, nuclear explosives, or gravity tractors. None of these has been demonstrated yet, although the DART mission under development will test kinetic impact technology. Other suggestions, such as laser or solar heating or various slow-push options, are not technologically mature enough to be considered. Because dangerous impacts are exceedingly rare, with intervals of centuries or longer, we must also consider the potential unintended consequences or even deliberate misuse of premature development or deployment of planetary defense systems.
David Morrison
Chapter 8. NASA NEO Deflection Application: Current Capabilities and Limitations
Abstract
The NEO deflection simulator demonstrates what capability is needed for deflection of fictitious but realistic hazardous Near-Earth Objects (NEOs) by high-energy kinetic impactors. Focus is placed on requirements for launch systems, payloads, guidance, software, resources and long-term sustainability. Mission timeline is addressed in terms of what we can do in a month, six months, or a few years, and gaps in our ability to respond are identified. Finally, the chapter proposes how to close the gaps and quantify the resulting technical and monetary benefits.
Nahum Melamed
Chapter 9. Near-Earth Objects and the United Nations
Abstract
This chapter presents the past, current and future efforts of the United Nations (UN) through its Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) and the United Nations (UN) Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) in the field of near-Earth objects and planetary defense. The focus is on the progress made in implementing recommendations for an international response to the NEO impact threat, as agreed under the auspices of COPUOS and welcomed by the UN General Assembly in its resolution 68/75. The chapter also outlines the ongoing work by the International Asteroid Warning Network (IAWN) and the Space Mission Planning Advisory Group (SMPAG), which were established as a result of the abovementioned recommendations and report annually to COPUOS and its Scientific and Technical Subcommittee. The aim is to ensure a coordinated international response to the NEO impact threat, including information sharing in discovering, monitoring and physically characterizing potentially hazardous NEOs so that all countries, in particular developing countries with limited capacity in predicting and mitigating a NEO impact, are aware of potential threats.
Romana Kofler, Daniel Garcia Yarnoz, Martin Staško
Chapter 10. A Consideration of a National Approach: The US Planetary Impact Emergency Response Working Group (PIERWG); A Joint Effort Between NASA and FEMA
Abstract
In October 2010, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy reaffirmed to Congress the US Government role in preparing for and responding to an actual or predicted impact of an asteroid on US territory. Since that date, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) have conducted several meetings and joint tabletop exercises designed to inform FEMA and NASA leadership of the coordination that would be required to respond to an asteroid impact scenario. In August 2015, a formal charter was signed between the two agencies to codify and organize the effort. This charter provides the framework for the establishment and structure of an Interagency team to advise senior leadership, coordinate responsibilities and assist in determining specific issues of preparedness, response and recovery at the national level when faced with a predicted or actual impact of an asteroid or comet in the United States or its territories.
Leviticus A. Lewis

Thinking About the Risk, Responding to the Threat and the International Dynamics

Frontmatter
Chapter 11. Evolution of Security Studies and the Resulting Perspectives of an Asteroid Threat
Abstract
This chapter is meant for those who have never read about the theory of security studies in the international relations discipline. The author introduces the basic concepts of critical security studies, such as the extreme politicization of security threats, known as the securitization process. Securitization is discussed in the light of disciplinary evolution, to show the reader that we can clearly discern between various ways of thinking, contemplating how perceptions of the social reality have been influencing our decisions in political life. The author later argues that the right decision is not necessarily the most effective one and explains in detail how ethics influence our perceptions of security. In order to apply this theory to planetary defense, the chapter in its third part introduces the most recent move within the study of security studies theory—the pragmatist turn—influenced by the new wave of ethical security studies. Key explanations of the distinction between negative and positive security apply to many other chapters and form the core of our argument within this volume. In the case of planetary defense, they clearly show that defining security as the mere absence of the threat is not in our interests.
Nikola Schmidt
Chapter 12. Asteroid Impact Risk Assessment: Rationalizing the Threat
Abstract
The asteroid impact hazard is difficult to conceive in the context of everyday human life. Large-scale impact events of global or regional consequences might not happen for generations, but the consequences in the event of an impact can far surpass those of other natural disasters. In this chapter, statistical methods are employed to express the asteroid hazard in terms that are accessible for the human perspective and that allow the hazard to be placed into context with other natural disasters. In addition to the description of the overall hazard situation in statistical terms, the chapter describes the current means of communicating asteroid impact threat levels of discovered asteroids, such as the Torino and Palermo scales, and introduces a new impact threat scale coined the Southampton Asteroid Hazard Scale. Initially, the chapter introduces the asteroid population in terms of its size and which of its portions have been discovered to date. Subsequently, the statistics of impact angle, speed and location, which drive impact consequences, are presented. The size-dependent portions of the asteroid population that are especially hazardous for the human population are identified based on a statistical assessment of the relevant parameter space.
Clemens M. Rumpf
Chapter 13. Uncertainty and Risk at the Catastrophe Threshold
Abstract
The planetary defense enterprise is justified by a cost/benefit analysis comparing long-term average losses from unmitigated NEO impacts to the expense of preventing them. Probabilistic risk assessment is used because the risk is dominated by NEOs that have not yet been discovered and are on unknown trajectories. The number of lives saved has historically quantified the benefit side, but there is no unambiguous means to compare this quantity to the monetary cost of planetary defense. Nevertheless, it is a useful metric for intercomparison of various risk-reduction strategies. There is a power-law distribution of NEO sizes, and the consequences are a strong function of size with a presumed threshold for global catastrophe. Therefore, the most cost-effective means for reducing risk has been to focus first on surveys designed to discover asteroids large enough to exceed the catastrophe threshold. The possibility of a NEO-caused global catastrophe has nearly been eliminated, reducing the overall assessed risk by an order of magnitude so far. Eliminating the remaining risk will be more difficult and the returned benefit will be smaller. Barring the discovery of an asteroid on a collision course, at some point the planetary defense cost will no longer be justified by the marginal benefit.
Mark Boslough
Chapter 14. Conceptualizing the Asteroid Threat and Searching for a Balanced Answer Between Effectiveness and Desirability
Abstract
This chapter utilizes the theory of securitization, as previously explained, and applies it to the asteroid threat. As the threat itself is clearly detectable by scientific means, it might look as if there are no political implications. This chapter claims the opposite. The fact that we can scientifically detect an asteroid merely precedes a political decision on how best to deal with it, no matter whether it is on a collision course or not. Securitization not only brings the threat to the fore of global debates, but it also legitimizes certain mitigation measures. Planetary defense is a delicate topic because currently, the most effective mitigation measure is nuclear deflection. However, using a nuclear warhead euphemistically called a ‘Nuclear Explosive Device’ creates new dilemmas. Thinking about alternatives for planetary defense that could become part of a broader infrastructure in space provides more than just security defined as the absence of threat; rather, it provides an opportunity to promote human flourishing in space and on Earth. Scientific authorities produce knowledge applicable to threat mitigation, but at the same time this creates responsibility and requires ethical reflection. This chapter explains in detail how a decision based simultaneously on rational and normative values should look.
Nikola Schmidt
Chapter 15. Weapons of Mass Protection? Rogue Asteroids, Nuclear Explosions in Space, and the Norms of Global Nuclear Order
Abstract
Planetary defense scientists frequently consider nuclear explosive devices (NED) among the suitable tools for deflection of near-Earth objects. Despite the convenient physical characteristics of nuclear explosions, this chapter sketches the negative implications of developing any options in this direction for the nuclear non-proliferation regime and the global nuclear order as such. Moreover, the author critically unpacks the seemingly objective scientific rationality of these proposals and discusses how support for the NED development de-stigmatizes technology that, similarly to the impact of large asteroids, also carries the risk of destroying human civilization with a non-zero probability. The chapter concludes with a pragmatic attempt to find the middle ground between the NED advocates and critics.
Michal Smetana
Chapter 16. Dilemmas for Planetary Defense Posed by the Current International Law Framework
Abstract
The chapter opens with an introduction to the general legal regime in outer space. We are focusing on topics that are accentuated throughout the book, to discuss under what conditions various ideas would be realizable or what unintended consequences various decisions would cause. The intention of the chapter is not to complete a thorough international law analysis of planetary defense, or even to propose a legal regime, but rather to discuss topics found in the book using an international law perspective. We also show that making things happen is not necessarily based on engineering virtue, and that some legal obstacles remain in the way. Adopting a nuclear explosion method and treating it as the most effective can be true from an engineering point of view, but building lasers on the far side of the Moon could be much easier to achieve if we perceive the problem from the international law perspective.
Nikola Schmidt, Martin Švec
Chapter 17. ‘No Conscience of Its Own’: The Need for Global Space Ethics Review
Abstract
Global space ethics review offers a method of protecting terrestrial and extraterrestrial interests during human interactions with space and celestial objects. This chapter considers how a robust space ethics review system could be developed and monitored over time to ensure adherence to ethical principles. After briefly introducing the concept of space ethics, this chapter considers various methods of asteroid deflection, evaluating whether these could be ethically acceptable. It then continues by identifying some potential threats to human health and wellbeing posed by space exploration, including risks to global biosecurity, before outlining the proposed global space ethics review process intended to avoid or mitigate these risks.
Evie Kendal
Chapter 18. The Conundrum of Commercial Space
Abstract
Commercialization is probably one of the most commonly heard words in the space industry. The topic is cause for one of the largest divisions in the industry, between the proposers of commerce, who often pose it as the only realistic approach, and the defenders of the traditional governmental approach, who see commerce as a utopian model that will never become a reality in space. Several commercialization attempts in the past failed to yield a fully commercial space sector (i.e. funded fully by private individuals). However, the various flaws of the various government space programs worldwide make a good case for the development of a commercially sustained space sector, especially for the development of large projects such as the MMB. Recent approaches to commercialization through private-public partnerships have shown promising results and could be imitated for the MMB. This chapter reviews past efforts towards commercialization and their main issues, and proposes how to solve them based on current experience with public-private partnerships.
Carlos Manuel Entrena Utrilla

The Architecture of Global Collaboration on Planetary Defense

Frontmatter
Chapter 19. The Overview Effect and Planetary Defense
Abstract
Astronauts, cosmonauts, and space travelers from all nations of the Earth have reported a similar response to seeing their home planet from orbit or the Moon. They experience a phenomenon defined by the author as “The Overview Effect,” a realization that the borders and boundaries that have been drawn on the globe fade when seen from a distance, and an understanding that the Earth is like a fragile spaceship moving rapidly through an immense universe filled with danger. In this chapter, the author explores the implications of the Overview Effect for planetary defense. Can the Overview Effect play a key role in bringing the people of Earth together to protect the home planet from challenges as diverse as climate change and an asteroid impact?
Frank White
Chapter 20. Cosmopolitan Rationale for Planetary Defense
Abstract
An asteroid threat of a significant magnitude impacts the lives of every single person on Earth, as well as every single non-human lifeform on the planet. The issue is inherently cosmopolitan, as we are all undeniable equal in the face of such a threat. The following chapter introduces the reader to the evolution of cosmopolitan thinking over the centuries or even millennia, demonstrating how particular philosophers have thought about the principles of cosmopolitan equality. Immanuel Kant stands as the icon of cosmopolitan thinking; he detached the cosmos from the rule of law and introduced the human as a cognitive agent. Ulrich Beck introduced key concepts that we use throughout the volume, such as national and cosmopolitan outlooks as well as the prison error of identity, which explains how falsely we align with social groups according to political will but not according to rational consequences. Finally, Anthony Burke’s recent security cosmopolitanism is explained as the global security imperative. This chapter is the theoretical foundation of the volume’s core message supporting a planetary defense policy as a strategic necessity to survive and flourish.
Nikola Schmidt
Chapter 21. Dawn of Cosmopolitan Order? The New Norm of Responsibility to Defend Earth and the Planetary Council
Abstract
The unique character of planetary defense requires an adequate governance model. There is no reason to believe that the current mode of global governance based on geography, not function, is applicable to address spatially unbounded issues. To bridge the lacking effectivity and accountability of the global system dominated by nation-states, we look to cosmopolitan and critical security theory. Following the dissemination and analysis of deficiencies of international organization and contemporary global governance, we move to describe a three-layer Planetary Council as a structure for managing planetary defense. Our proposed structure aims to start the debate on how we organize collective efforts to ensure not simply human survival but rather all-human flourishing. The application of cosmopolitan theory aims to positively change our collective behavior as a species and develop a new norm to Defend Earth that is useful for other areas of human activity.
Nikola Schmidt, Petr Boháček
Chapter 22. Global Space Governance and Planetary Defense Mechanisms
Abstract
The breadth and depth of human understanding of cosmic hazards has rapidly expanded in the last few decades. Humans have grasped the idea that they are indeed traveling on a six sextillion metric ton “natural spacecraft” that orbits the sun once a year, and that our small planet now sustains 7.5 billion people. Indeed, planet Earth may be forced to support a global population as many as 12 billion people by the end of the twenty-first century. This population is going to be more and more concentrated in urban centers and dependent on modern infrastructure. This all means that the risks due to cosmic hazards are increasing. This chapter focuses on improved governance systems and capabilities through processes in the United Nations, non-governmental organizations, and national and regional private mechanisms. This is mainly to facilitate planetary efforts in the context of asteroid and comet defense. These various planetary efforts can be new standards, new warning mechanisms, improved methods to share information more widely concerning cosmic hazards and ultimately perhaps globally sanctioned mechanisms to undertake either planetary defense or newly coordinated methods to respond to cosmic hazards in the aftermath of an asteroid or comet strike. In the longer term, there are further concerns such as solar flares, coronal mass ejections, shifts in the Earth’s magnetic poles, and even global climate change and orbital space debris. These outer space-related hazards are legitimate areas of concern and will likely, over time, become additional key aspects of planetary defense considerations
Joseph N. Pelton
Chapter 23. New Enemy, Old Pact? Past Defense Pacts and Future Planetary Defense Treaty
Abstract
This chapter draws a parallel between past defense pacts and a possible future planetary defense treaty regulating NEO deflection. Drafting a planetary defense treaty is compared to creating a defense pact. The data concerning the defense pacts offer insights in regard to the following questions: firstly, when it is the right time to establish legal framework for international cooperation; secondly, how to ensure that all the participating nations will contribute the same efforts and resources to the common defense project; thirdly, how the decision making should be regulated; and fourthly, how to safeguard that the outcomes of the project, e.g. in the form of advanced military technology, shall not be misused for the benefit of leading nation(s) and for the detriment of others. The chapter quantitatively investigates selected defense pacts concluded among nations between 1815 and 2003 and qualitatively examines five current defense pacts. It first evaluates the correlation between threat proximity and pact conclusion. The chapter then inquires what the actual wording of five current pacts is, i.e. whether it intends to prescribe same contributions of participants (freeriding prevention), whether it prohibits misusing the cooperation (abuse prevention) and how it regulates common capabilities development and decision-making.
Tomáš Bruner
Chapter 24. Why a World State Is Unavoidable in Planetary Defense: On Loopholes in the Vision of a Cosmopolitan Governance
Abstract
The main claim of this chapter is that planetary defense against asteroids cannot be implemented under a decentralized model of democratic global governance, as espoused elsewhere in this book. All relevant indices point to the necessity of establishing a centralized global political authority with legitimate coercive powers. It remains to be seen, however, whether such a political system can be in any recognizable sense democratic. It seems unconvincing that planetary-wide physical-threat, all-comprehensive macrosecuritization, coupled with deep transformations of international law, global centralization of core decision-making powers, de-stigmatization of nuclear weapons and the like can proceed, succeed, and be implemented in a non-hierarchical international system where planetary defense constitutes only one regime among many, and where states basically remain the decisive actors. Although rationally and scientifically robust, the project suffers from oversimplification, as well as naivety with respect to how both international and domestic politics works. Among other topics, this chapter discusses problems associated with the rule of law and constituent powers, political representation and sources of legitimacy, conditions of multilevel collective action, or limits of theoretical idealization. The general message is that the planetary defense community needs to be more aware of the social and political context of its own enterprise.
Pavel Dufek
Chapter 25. The Moon Base as a Commercial Hub
Abstract
The main limitation of current space settlement plans is, without doubt, the cost. Even though some people might argue that we lack some key technologies for long-term human habitation, such as closed-loop life support or advanced propulsion, the criterion that determines which technologies are necessary is at its core a trade-off between cost and risk. If a given program needs to be implemented with current technological levels, a desired level of risk can usually be achieved by increasing the cost, which is the current practice among public entities. In contrast, outsourcing several activities of the lunar outpost to private companies, for example cargo delivery or resource production, would reduce costs for the main partners, while at the same time putting in place the necessary infrastructure for the creation of a commercial economy in cislunar space. A planetary defense goal could provide the final element in the value chain for commercial activities in the cislunar region, thus creating an initial demand for the different commercial activities. This chapter presents several proposals for public-private partnerships that could be the basis for the commercialization of the lunar outpost, and the possibilities that they present for the development of the multipurpose planetary defense base.
Carlos Manuel Entrena Utrilla
Chapter 26. The Multipurpose Lunar Base as a First-Line Biosphere Defense and as a Gateway to the Universe
Abstract
This concluding chapter shows practically that planetary defense is not about securing the mere absence of threat. Deflecting asteroids does not necessarily require its own dedicated technology. Quite the contrary, planetary defense can and should be approached as a civilian and scientific endeavor with historical importance. This will be challenging, but if we can build a laser capable of sending nanoprobes to the nearest stars at 20% light speed and use the same installation for possible asteroid deflection, then we should not need to rely on militarily oriented planetary defense by a leading nation. In this chapter, we discuss the associated challenges and required technologies, and also that our community of fate can become a security community—a community in which we do not perceive one another as enemies but as allies. We explain the science of Moon survival and structures for the multipurpose lunar base, as well as the main issues of building a super powerful laser on the Moon. The same installation can be built on Earth if we can reach a breakthrough in global governance. The chapter ends by discussing the notion that planetary defense is not national defense.
Nikola Schmidt, Carlos Manuel Entrena Utrilla, Petr Boháček, Jackelynne Silva-Martinez, Pete Worden
Chapter 27. Will Planetary Defense Change a Realist World?
Abstract
The emergence of international cooperation and a space epistemic community focused on advancing planetary defense is an unheralded accomplishment of the twenty-first century. The saga of planetary defense has even exceeded the dreams of functionalists, who believed that cooperation on technical matters could bridge political and social differences to tackle problems that afflicted humankind. Nevertheless, it would appear that planetary defense has not sparked a fundamental change in political thinking on Earth, or actually requires that sort of change to be successful. Defenses have advanced despite the existence of a world dominated by nation-states and traditional diplomatic norms and balance of power thinking. It remains to be seen, however, if further advances in space exploration in general and planetary defenses in particular will spark a more Cosmopolitan outlook, leading to the rise of Cosmopolitan institutions on Earth.
James J. Wirtz
Backmatter
Metadata
Title
Planetary Defense
Editor
Nikola Schmidt
Copyright Year
2019
Electronic ISBN
978-3-030-01000-3
Print ISBN
978-3-030-00999-1
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-01000-3