Asteroids in the service of humanity
Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
2013-06-13 v1
Abstract
There are at least three compelling reasons for the human race to initiate a major programme to explore and better understand the 'minor planets' of the Solar System: (1) Enhancing scientific knowledge; (2) Mitigating the impact hazard; and (3) Utilizing extraterrestrial resources. Strong synergies exist between all three. Moreover, all these activities would benefit from greater international cooperation in space exploration by the World's space agencies, and the recognition that asteroids are important targets for human and robotic exploration.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.1306.2678,
title = {Asteroids in the service of humanity},
author = {Ian A. Crawford},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1306.2678},
year = {2013}
}
Comments
Invited foreword to the book 'Asteroids: Prospective Energy and Material Resources' edited by V. Badescu (Springer, in press)