Canada will launch its "hunter on asteroids"
Canada meets in 2009 to launch a satellite into space specialist, who will vyiskivat "the approaches to long-distance" potentially dangerous to Earth asteroids, including those from the surface of the planet can not be seen zagodya.
Already several times without much joy astronomers found away from Earth asteroids that could potentially pose a threat to the planet - and which were not detected in advance, despite all efforts.
Now the hunt for such asteroids decided to move into space. Staff Near Earth Object Surveillance Satellite (NEOSSat) will be fairly modest dimensions and weight of only 60 kilograms. The main component will be his telescope with a 15 - cm mirror (many amateur telescope mirrors are large), through which the device will monitor potentially dangerous objects.
Basically, he would focus on tracking asteroids in orbits between the Earth and the Sun, it is their most difficult track from Earth, because in terms of terrestrial observers such objects are always close to the solar disk, so that you can only see them immediately after entering the Sun or just before sunrise - luminescence atmosphere makes it difficult to monitor them. NEOSSat can see them easily, as will be outside the planet's atmosphere.
The program NEOSSat (total cost of about $ 10 million, that for such a project is very little) partially sponsored by the Ministry of National Defense of Canada, which has its interest in the program: through NEOSSat, Canadian military intend obkatat detection technology to other satellites orbiting the Earth.