Beskrivning

Although the likelihood of asteroid 2024 YR4 impacting Earth is low (about 1.3%), it exceeds the threshold for UN notification. Estimated at 30–90 m in diameter, it’s not large but could still devastate a city. Planetary defense is a growing international effort uniting astronomers, engineers, and social scientists to detect threats, develop deflection technology, and guide decision-makers. Science and strategy go hand in hand—because when it comes to planetary defense, there’s no second chance.

In collaboration with Czech Centre Stockholm.

Medverkande

Nikola Schmidt, PhD, Institute of International Relations Prague. Nikola Schmidt works as a senior research fellow and head of the Center for Governance of Emerging Technologies, Czech Republic.

Schmidt participated in a planetary defense project co-funded by NASA and ESA, which led to a multi-year multidisciplinary research project on planetary defense, space mining, and the role of breakthrough research projects for the Czech Republic. His professional interest lies in the relationship between technology, international relations, and forms of global governance, as well as the role of experts in political decision-making in the realms of space and cyber security, climate change, and other planetary challenges that rely on expert and scientific knowledge for political decisions.