When the National Science Foundation gave the go-ahead for the Rubin Observatory, B612 re-evaluated its plans. “We can quickly turn around and say, ‘What is the different approach to solving the problem that we are there to solve?'” Dr. Lu said. “
The Rubin Observatory is due to make its first test observations in about a year and be operational in about two years. Dr. Evcic said ten years of Rubin’s observations, combined with other searches for asteroids, could meet Congress’ 90 percent goal.
NASA is accelerating planetary defense efforts, too. Its asteroid telescope, called the NEO Surveyor, is in the initial design phase, and aims to launch in 2026.
Later this year, the Double Asteroid Redirection Test mission will launch a projectile at a small asteroid and measure how much the asteroid’s path has changed. China’s National Space Agency is working on a similar mission.
For B612, rather than squabbling over a telescope project costing nearly half a billion dollars, it could contribute to less expensive research efforts like THOR. Last week, it announced that it had received $1.3 million in gifts to fund further work on cloud computing tools for asteroid science. The foundation has also received a grant from Tito’s Handmade Vodka that will match up to $1 million from other donors.
B612 and Dr. Lu are now not just trying to save the world. “We answer a trivial question about how vodka relates to asteroids.” He said.