Episode description

Alec Koumjian, Head of Software Engineering for the Asteroid Institute, talks about the pioneering efforts underway to defend Earth from asteroids and other space objects. The Institute’s innovative use of multiple data sources and software to predict and analyze trajectories includes inputs from the public and partnerships with other organizations. Alec relates the challenges of tracking objects in the solar system over long periods of time, the Asteroid Institute’s many achievements, and plans to map and track practically all space objects that could threaten life on our planet.