Previous awardees will not be considered for the present selection and applicants for the first round wishing consideration in the second selection are requested to submit new, updated applications. Application forms are available on this web site . The Society's NEO Grant Program is coordinated by Daniel D. Durda, an asteroid researcher at the University of Arizona's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory. An international advisory group, including noted near-Earth object scientists Richard Binzel of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Clark Chapman of the Southwest Research Institute, Andrea Carusi of the Spaceguard Foundation, and Brian Marsden of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, will advise the Planetary Society on the selection of awards for the grants. Facing the Threat of Comets and Asteroids Popular awareness of the threat of comet and asteroid impacts has increased dramatically in recent months with the report of a close approach past Earth of the asteroid 1997 XF11 in October 2028 and the summer release of the movies Deep Impact and Armageddon.
Earth lives in a swarm of near-Earth objects of different sizes and orbits.
Less than 200 NEOs have been discovered thus far. Scientists estimate that there are several thousand such NEOs larger than one kilometer and 150,000 to perhaps 100 million larger than 100 meters in size. While various astronomical groups and NASA advisory committees have strongly recommended discovery of these objects be accelerated, government support for NEO search and follow-up programs remains modest. The Planetary Society hopes that its NEO Grant Program will help map the potential hazards of the future, allowing humanity to better understand the threat of cosmic collisions. The first four Gene Shoemaker Near-Earth Object Grants were awarded at the Celebration of Life service honoring Shoemaker at the US Geological Survey Flagstaff Field Center on October 11, 1997.