The United Nations General Assembly declared 30 June as International Asteroid Day, by the resolution A/RES/71/90; International Asteroid Day aims to raise public awareness about the asteroid impact hazard and to inform the public about the crisis communication actions to be taken at the global level in case of a credible near-Earth object threat. The General Assembly’s decision was made based on a proposal by the Association of Space Explorers, which was endorsed by Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS).

FORUM: International Asteroid Day 2020 , Working on Planetary Defense.

NASA & SpaceForce DoD have signed an agreement to share data from the USSF Space Surveillance Telescope in Australia with NASA's Planetary Defense program. Together, NASA, USSF, & RAAF will find & track near-Earth objects (NEOs) to be ready for any potential impact threat. Asteroids are given minor planet numbers, but not all minor planets are asteroids. Minor planet numbers are also given to objects of the Kuiper belt, which is similar to the asteroid belt but farther out around 30–60 AU, whereas asteroids are mostly between 2–3 AU from the Sun. Also, comets are not typically included under minor planet numbers, and have their own naming conventions; Asteroids are given a unique sequential identifying number once their orbit is precisely determined.

• Asteroid 1998 OR2 to Safely Fly Past Earth

• Small Asteroid to Safely Fly by Earth

• Tiny Object Discovered in Distant Orbit Around the Earth

• NASA's First Planetary Defense Mission Target Gets a New Name: Nearly two decades ago, a near-Earth asteroid was discovered to have a moon and the binary system was given the name “Didymos” -- Greek for “twin,” a loose description of the larger main body and the smaller orbiting moon, which became unofficially known as Didymos B. Ahead of NASA's planetary defense Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) demonstration, the Didymos moon & target for DART's kinetic impact is getting an official name.

PARTICIPANTS

• International Asteroid Warning Network

• Space Mission Planning Advisory Group

• NASA's center for computing asteroid and comet orbits and their odds of Earth impact

• NASA Asteroid Watch

• NEO Coordination Centre

• NEOShield-2

• United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space

• United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs

• United Nations Coordination of Outer Space Activities

Resolutions and Declarations:

• Resolution declaring International Asteroid Day

• COPUOS Reports

• A/RES/54/68: Third United Nations Conference on the Exploration and Peaceful Uses of Outer Space

• Reports Archive

• Principles Governing the Use by States of Artificial Earth Satellites for International Direct Television Broadcasting (A/RES/37/92)

• Principles relating to Remote Sensing of the Earth from Outer Space (A/RES/41/65)

• Principles relevant to the Use of Nuclear Power Sources in Outer Space (A/RES/47/68)

• Declaration on International Cooperation in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space for the Benefit and in the Interest of All States, Taking into Particular Account the Needs of Developing Countries (A/RES/51/122)

• Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies (A/RES/2222 (XXI))

• Agreement on the Rescue of Astronauts, the Return of Astronauts and the Return of Objects Launched into Outer Space (A/RES/2345 (XXII))

• Convention on International Liability for Damage Caused by Space Objects (A/RES/2777 (XXVI))

• Register of objects launched into outer space (A/RES/3235 (XXIX))

• Agreement Governing the Activities of States on the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies (A/RES/34/68)