Planetary Defense Coordination Office

Planetary Defense Coordination Office
Agency overview
FormedJanuary 2016 (2016-01)
JurisdictionUnited States
HeadquartersWashington, D.C.
MottoHic Servare Diem (Latin)
"Here to Save the Day"[1]
Agency executive
  • Lindley Johnson[2], Planetary Defense Officer
Parent departmentScience Mission Directorate, Planetary Science Division
Parent agencyNASA
Websitenasa.gov/planetarydefense

The Planetary Defense Coordination Office (PDCO) is a planetary defense organization established in January 2016 within NASA's Planetary Science Division of the Science Mission Directorate.[3] It includes a Near Earth Observations Program which funds telescopic searches and orbit calculations.[4]

Its mission is to look for and catalogue near-Earth objects such as comets, asteroids, and potentially hazardous objects that could impact Earth, as well as help the U.S. government prepare for a potential impact event (and coordinate efforts to mitigate and deflect potential threats if one is detected).[5]

  1. ^ "How a real NASA patch anchors Netflix's 'Don't Look Up' in reality". collectSPACE.com. Archived from the original on January 28, 2022. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
  2. ^ "PDCO Organization". NASA. Archived from the original on November 28, 2021. Retrieved December 25, 2021.
  3. ^ Sarkar, Monica (January 13, 2016). "NASA Planetary Defense Office set up to save Earth". CNN. Archived from the original on December 25, 2021. Retrieved December 25, 2021.
  4. ^ "Near-Earth Observations (NEO) Program - NASA Science". science.nasa.gov. Retrieved July 23, 2024.
  5. ^ David, Leonard (January 11, 2016). "NASA creates office to coordinate protection against asteroids". Christian Science Monitor. Archived from the original on January 12, 2016. Retrieved January 12, 2016.