Don't look up: NASA is struggling to execute its planetary defense plan

Audit finds budget uncertainties and tiny staff make it hard to mount a fight against killer space rocks

NASA is struggling to meet all the goals of its Planetary Defense Strategy and Action Plan, the effort that aims to prevent humanity being wiped out by space rocks that hit Earth.

The aerospace agency’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) audited the Planetary Defense plan and on Tuesday published the findings, which include praise for NASA’s efforts to find more of the near-Earth objects (NEOs) that pose a threat to our home.

The OIG also praised NASA for conducting missions like the Double Asteroid Redirection Test that showed it is possible to divert an asteroid’s orbit, expressed appreciation for efforts to develop notification procedures for possible NEO impact events, and welcomed increased collaboration with other federal agencies and international partners.

Another positive finding notes that NASA’s planned NEO Surveyor project, which aims to launch a NEO-spotting telescope into space, is on track to launch before June 2028 and on budget.

But the document also finds plenty of things to worry about, among them the fact that a single employee oversees NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office (PDCO) with help from just one contractor. That scanty staff means NASA lacks the governance structure needed to oversee planetary defense.

OIG also expressed concern that PDCO hasn’t developed detailed plans for a long-term planetary defense strategy and warned that NASA’s defensive efforts have “inadequate management structure and resources” and operate under “a strategic plan that is missing some key interagency collaboration practices.”

Another item of concern is that operators of existing terrestrial equipment used to spot NEOs haven’t performed upgrades or repairs.

“One observatory has two old cameras that need to be replaced to be more effective,” the OIG observed, before calling for “more effective planning… to ensure these assets are integrated into the work that will be performed by two upcoming observatories—NEO Surveyor and the Vera C. Rubin Observatory.”

Those new NEO-spotters will find more space rocks, creating a need for more follow-up observations.

NASA may not have the resources to make those observations.

The OIG noted “many unknowns regarding NASA’s science budget in the upcoming years,” an observation that feels like a nod to the Trump administration’s planned funding cuts that have seen the aerospace agency shelve a planned mission to asteroid Apophis, a skyscraper-sized object that will pass 32,000km from Earth in 2029.

The audit concludes that’s a missed opportunity “to advance planetary defense capabilities and NEO understanding” and restoring the mission “could be a goodwill branding benchmark for NASA and the Agency’s planetary defense efforts.”

“Ultimately, planetary defense has reached a point of significant change and opportunity, with Apophis and the era of advanced asteroid surveys approaching,” the audit concludes. “NASA could do more to ensure the Agency positions itself to take advantage of these critical moments.”

NASA management concurred (at least partially) with the OIG’s six recommendations, and promised to address most of them during 2026. The agency also pledged to develop a comprehensive Planetary Defense plan by April 2027. Let’s hope we don’t need one before then! ®