Applying techniques used to protect the International Space Station from orbital debris to asteroid defense...

In my opinion, one of the biggest problems with the current situation in the asteroid defense community is not the lack of a plan, but the reluctance on the part of its members to set some concrete thresholds, especially with regard to the maximum risk we can accept before a defense must be attempted. NASA and its international partners had to deal with a similar issue concerning the International Space Station and orbital debris, and I believe the NEO folks can learn something from the solution they devised. Click here to read my paper on the subject. Image courtesy NASA More information on the asteroid hazard is available in the links section.