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". Artists impression of a major impact event. ...

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. External link NASA Biography Categories: Stub | 1963 births | Astronauts | Chinese Americans | Chinese American scientists ... An aerial view of the complete Johnson Space Center facility in Houston, Texas in 1989. ... Houston redirects here. ... ... October 20 is the 293rd day of the year (294th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 72 days remaining. ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ... Russell L. Rusty Schweickart (born October 25, 1935, in Neptune, New Jersey) is an American astronaut. ... External link NASA Biography Categories: Stub | 1963 births | Astronauts | Chinese Americans | Chinese American scientists ... October 7 is the 280th day of the year (281st in leap years). ... 2002 (MMII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

It is named for the home asteroid of the eponymous hero of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's The Little Prince. Antoine de Saint-Exupéry in Toulouse Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (June 29, 1900 – July 31, 1944) was a French writer and aviator. ... The Little Prince, drawn by Saint-Exupéry himself, chapter II The Little Prince (French Le Petit Prince), published in 1943, is French aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupérys most famous novel, which he wrote while staying at a hotel in New York. ...

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 Houston, Texas. 501C3 refers to section 501(c)(3) of the United States Internal Revenue Code that exempts payment of federal income taxes for groups that are organized for charitable, religious, scientific, literary or educational purposes. ... Houston redirects here. ... ...

See also

• Spaceguard
• Asteroid deflection

The term Spaceguard loosely refers to a number of efforts to discover and study near-Earth objects (NEO). ... Since 1994 when Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 collided with Jupiter, scientists have been researching if it may be possible to deflect incoming asteroids. ...

External links

• B612 Foundation
• 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 American)