Asteroid Day is an official United Nations day of global awareness about the opportunities and challenges that asteroids present.
Asteroid Day was co-founded by astrophysicist and famed musician Dr. Brian May of the rock group QUEEN, Apollo 9 astronaut Rusty Schweickart, filmmaker Grig Richters, and B612 Foundation President Danica Remy.
Panel hosts included Sarah Cruddas, Alan Boyle, Lisa Burke, Sabinije von Gaffke, and Stuart Clark. The panel summary descriptions can be found here. Asteroid Day LIVE is streaming over Asteroid Day TV and the detailed program schedule can be found on the Asteroid Day website.
Asteroids are the leftover remnants of the birth of the planets in the Solar System, and many are the shattered fragments of these diminutive proto-planets that never made it to maturity. “Asteroid exploration missions tell us about the birth of our own planet and reveal how asteroids can serve astronauts as stepping stones to Mars,” says Tom Jones, PhD, veteran astronaut and planetary scientist, and Asteroid Day Expert Panel member.
Each asteroid is an individual with its own story to tell. And that’s what Asteroid Day is all about: bringing those stories to the widest audience possible. “Space and science have been an endless source of inspiration for SES! This is one of the reasons why we and our partners continue to do extraordinary things in space to deliver amazing experiences everywhere on earth,” says Ruy Pinto, Chief Technology Officer at SES. “Through satellite broadcasting, we are able to reach millions of TV households and this enables us to unite people around science, space, and technology topics.”
After Asteroid Day, the panels can be found there as well as on YouTube.
