I think one of the most important tasks for planetary defense is detecting comets and asteroids early. That's why I think continued funding of the SpaceX ultra-heavy lift booster is a good idea, not for any reason related to the moon or mars, but for the ability to ride-share cheaper and heavier space-based survey telescopes.
Honestly, with LSST coming online in the next few months, and NEO Surveyor on the way in the next decade, I think we are pretty set already for observational instruments. The big gap that I see is in software.
(I work on asteroid detection for planetary defense professionally)
>I work on asteroid detection for planetary defense professionally
Cool. I am a software engineer with nearly 40 years professional experience. I wondered if volunteering to work on an open source software related to planetary defense might be an interesting retirement project.
I don't think in this use case that would be very logical. If we want to deploy survey telescopes and use SpaceX for it, what is the harm. Once deployed it is deployed. On the other hand if it was about deploying the nuclear deflection device through some SpaceX rocket I would be worried. I wouldn't be surprised if musk tried some destructive grand standing at the last moment derailing the whole thing and dooming us all.
The telescope in question was at one point the proposed Sentinel [0] (apparently now the NEO Surveyor [1]), and frankly, even for something like that, I simply don't trust Elon because of its purpose. SpaceX has a stench about it that calls into question everything they're involved in, so long as he's at the helm.
Besides, given the low weight of 1,300kg, NASA is perfectly capable of launching the NEO Surveyor on its own via the SLS [2].
No, what I disagree with is his inconsistency, and also his manipulatability by the Russians, who allegedly told him a nuclear war would erupt if he didn't do what they said.
What's to stop someone else from otherwise manipulating him to not stop the asteroid, using similar threats or similar reasoning? Perhaps he finds a way to survive for a time off planet (or sufficiently deep underground), for example. He's the kind of unstable that might result in him not therefore caring how the rest of us fare.
