B612 Foundation
Encyclopedia
The B612 Foundation is a private foundation dedicated to protecting the Earth from asteroid strikes
. Their immediate goal is to "significantly alter the orbit of an asteroid in a controlled manner by 2015".
The B612 project grew out of a one-day workshop on asteroid deflection organized by Piet Hut
and Ed Lu
at NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas
, on October 20, 2001. Participants Rusty Schweickart
, Clark Chapman, Piet Hut
, and Ed Lu
established the B612 Foundation on October 7, 2002.
Schweickart, who is the Chairman of the Board, is the public face of the foundation. Daniel David Durda is the President, Hut the Secretary, and Lu is the Treasurer of B612. Chapman and Geoffrey Baehr complete the foundation's Board of Directors.
The foundation is named for the home asteroid of the eponymous hero of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
's The Little Prince
. Also inspired by The Little Prince is an asteroid discovered in 1993, though not identified as posing any threat to Earth impact, named 46610 Bésixdouze
: The numerical part is the hexadecimal
number 'B612' translated to decimal
, while the textual part is French for "B six twelve".
Impact event
An impact event is the collision of a large meteorite, asteroid, comet, or other celestial object with the Earth or another planet. Throughout recorded history, hundreds of minor impact events have been reported, with some occurrences causing deaths, injuries, property damage or other significant...
. Their immediate goal is to "significantly alter the orbit of an asteroid in a controlled manner by 2015".
The B612 project grew out of a one-day workshop on asteroid deflection organized by Piet Hut
Piet Hut
Piet Hut is a Dutch astrophysicist who has made his career in the United States. Hut is Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. He was born in Utrecht in The Netherlands....
and Ed Lu
Ed Lu
Edward Tsang "Ed" Lu , is an American physicist and a former NASA astronaut. He is a veteran of two Space Shuttle missions and an extended stay aboard the International Space Station.-Education:...
at NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, on October 20, 2001. Participants Rusty Schweickart
Rusty Schweickart
Russell Louis "Rusty" Schweickart aka Schweikart is an American former astronaut, research scientist, US Air Force fighter pilot, business and government executive...
, Clark Chapman, Piet Hut
Piet Hut
Piet Hut is a Dutch astrophysicist who has made his career in the United States. Hut is Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. He was born in Utrecht in The Netherlands....
, and Ed Lu
Ed Lu
Edward Tsang "Ed" Lu , is an American physicist and a former NASA astronaut. He is a veteran of two Space Shuttle missions and an extended stay aboard the International Space Station.-Education:...
established the B612 Foundation on October 7, 2002.
Schweickart, who is the Chairman of the Board, is the public face of the foundation. Daniel David Durda is the President, Hut the Secretary, and Lu is the Treasurer of B612. Chapman and Geoffrey Baehr complete the foundation's Board of Directors.
The foundation is named for the home asteroid of the eponymous hero of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry , officially Antoine Marie Jean-Baptiste Roger, comte de Saint Exupéry , was a French writer, poet and pioneering aviator. He became a laureate of France's highest literary awards, and in 1939 was the winner of the U.S. National Book Award...
's The Little Prince
The Little Prince
The Little Prince , first published in 1943, is a novella and the most famous work of the French aristocrat writer, poet and pioneering aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupéry ....
. Also inspired by The Little Prince is an asteroid discovered in 1993, though not identified as posing any threat to Earth impact, named 46610 Bésixdouze
46610 Besixdouze
46610 Besixdouze is an asteroid belonging to the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.It was formally pinpointed by Kin Endate and Kazuro Watanabe on October 15, 1993....
: The numerical part is the hexadecimal
Hexadecimal
In mathematics and computer science, hexadecimal is a positional numeral system with a radix, or base, of 16. It uses sixteen distinct symbols, most often the symbols 0–9 to represent values zero to nine, and A, B, C, D, E, F to represent values ten to fifteen...
number 'B612' translated to decimal
Decimal
The decimal numeral system has ten as its base. It is the numerical base most widely used by modern civilizations....
, while the textual part is French for "B six twelve".
Financial status
The B612 Foundation is a California 501(c)(3) non-profit, private foundation. Financial contributions to the B612 Foundation are tax exempt. Its principal offices are in Tiburon, CA.External links
- B612 Foundation
- Geoffrey Baehr bio
- Clark R. Chapman bio
- Daniel David Durda bio
- Pier Hut bio
- Edward Tsang Lu
- Russell L. (Rusty) Schweickart bio
- In Defense of Earth Keeping Asteroids at a Distance
- The Asteroid Tugboat: To prevent an asteroid from hitting Earth, a space tug equipped with plasma engines could give it a push By Russell L. Schweickart (from Scientific AmericanScientific AmericanScientific American is a popular science magazine. It is notable for its long history of presenting science monthly to an educated but not necessarily scientific public, through its careful attention to the clarity of its text as well as the quality of its specially commissioned color graphics...
)