Neil deGrasse Tyson narrates the story behind Asteroid Day. Learn more at: http://asteroidday.org​ | Asteroid Day is a global movement to protect Earth from asteroid impacts

 What do you know about the Asteroid Day?

The Story behind Asteroid Day

Launching Asteroid Day introduces us to the people and vision behind Asteroid Day, a growing global awareness movement where people from around the world are coming together to learn about asteroids, the hazards they may pose, and how we can do to protect our planet, families, communities, and future generations.

Asteroid Day is a global awareness campaign where people from around the world come together to learn about asteroids and what we can do to protect our planet, families, communities, and future generations from future asteroid impacts. Asteroid Day is held each year on June 30, the anniversary of the largest impact in recent history, the 1908 Tunguska event in Siberia.

What do you know about the asteroids ☄️ ? 

Scientists Rock - an Asteroid Day series | Episode 1

On 14 May 1981, Dumitru-Dorin Prunariu became the first Romanian cosmonaut flying on Soyuz-40 mission, part of the Intercosmos program. On 15 May 1981, the Soyuz capsule docked to the Salyut-6 orbital station, where Prunariu lived along Russian cosmonauts Leonid Popov, Vladimir Kovalyonok and Viktor Savinykh for seven days. On 22 May 1981, Leonid Popov and Dumitru Prunariu returned to Earth. So far, Dumitru Prunariu is the only Romanian cosmonaut.

What other astronauts do you know?

Cosmonaut Dr. Dorin Prunariu and Asteroid Day's programs

Asteroid Day is a dynamic awareness and educational program to inspire the world about asteroids – their role in the formation of our universe, how we can use their resources, how asteroids can pave the way for future exploration and finally how we can protect our planet from asteroid impacts. Asteroid Day events are held on 30 June each year to mark the anniversary of the 1908 Tunguska impact. Asteroid Day events are largely independently organized around the world for people of all ages and are mostly free-of-charge. Asteroid Day is a program run by the Asteroid Foundation, a Luxembourg nonprofit organization.

Asteroid Day was co-founded in 2014, by Dr. Brian May, astrophysicist and lead guitarist of QUEEN, together with Danica Remy, President of B612 Foundation, Rusty Schweickart, Apollo 9 Astronaut, and filmmaker Grig Richters. In 2016, the United Nations officially designated Asteroid Day as the international day of awareness and education about asteroids. Together with the United Nations, space agencies, schools and universities Asteroid Day is organized by networks of supporters who host events worldwide on 30, June and any other day of the year that the independent groups determine: http://asteroidday.org​

Do you want to become an astronaut? Justify your answer!

QUEEN Guitarist Dr. Brian May and Asteroid Day's programs

Dorin Prunariu is a Romanian cosmonaut. He flew on the Soyuz 40 mission to the Salyut 6 space station. Between 1998 and 2004, he was President of the Romanian Space Agency, and is now vice-chair of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UN COPUOS) Working Group on “Space Agenda 2030”. He is also the vice-president of the Asteroid Foundation, which is responsible for Asteroid Day. The Asteroid Foundation’s goal is to promote worldwide awareness, understanding, and education about asteroid opportunities and risks and the emerging space economy. In 2017, for his work connected with Near Earth Objects and for his central role in the promotion of Asteroid Day as an international day recognised by the UN General Assembly, asteroid “10707 Prunariu” was named after him.

In conversation with Lisa Burke, Dorin tells about his long interest in asteroids, starting in 2005 when the Association of Space Explorers began to organise a series of international workshops on asteroids and the potential threat they pose to Earth. He describes how he took the report that came out of those events to the United Nations to inform their position on near-Earth asteroids. As well as such top level work, he also talks about his work with the Asteroid Foundation to inform the public about asteroids, and with the International Academy of Astronautics to bring experts together every year to discuss asteroids and how to protect the Earth from any that stray to close.

What question do you want to ask Dorin?

Interview with Dorin Prunariu

<a href="https://asteroidday.org/"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; color: rgb(17, 85, 204); background-color: transparent; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: underline; text-decoration-skip: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Asteroid Day</a><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; background-color: transparent; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is held on 30 June each year to mark the date of Earth’s largest asteroid impact in recorded history, the Siberia Tunguska event. Asteroid Day was co-founded by astrophysicist and famed musician <a href="https://asteroidday.org/people/dr-brian-may/"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; color: rgb(17, 85, 204); background-color: transparent; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: underline; text-decoration-skip: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dr Brian May</a><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; background-color: transparent; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> of the rock group Queen, <a href="https://asteroidday.org/people/rusty-schweickart/"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; color: rgb(17, 85, 204); background-color: transparent; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: underline; text-decoration-skip: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Apollo 9 astronaut Rusty Schweickart</a><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; background-color: transparent; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, filmmaker <a href="https://asteroidday.org/people/grigorij-richters/"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; color: rgb(17, 85, 204); background-color: transparent; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: underline; text-decoration-skip: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Grig Richters</a><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; background-color: transparent; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, and <a href="https://b612foundation.org/members/danica-remy/"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; color: rgb(17, 85, 204); background-color: transparent; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: underline; text-decoration-skip: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">B612 Foundation President Danica Remy</a><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; background-color: transparent; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, to educate the public about the importance of asteroids in our history and the role they play in the solar system. In 2016, with the leadership of the Association of Space Explorers (ASE), the United Nations declared Asteroid Day to be a global day of education to raise awareness and promote knowledge in the general public about asteroids. Major events in past years have taken place in London, San Francisco, Washington, DC, Tanzania, Milan and Rimini, Italy; Garching, Germany; and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; in addition to <a href="https://asteroidday.org/events/?tribe_eventcategory=2&amp;tribe_event_display=past"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; color: rgb(17, 85, 204); background-color: transparent; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: underline; text-decoration-skip: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">thousands of events worldwide</a><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; background-color: transparent; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Asteroid Day’s core programs comprise Asteroid Day TV and Asteroid Day LIVE. Over the past six years, Asteroid Day has evolved to include the participation of major space organizations such as ESA, NASA, JAXA, Roscosmos and ISRO, as well as prominent scientists, astronomers, educators and media worldwide. Asteroid Day is a programme of the Luxembourg-based nonprofit Asteroid Foundation. <a href="http://www.asteroidday.org/"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; color: rgb(17, 85, 204); background-color: transparent; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: underline; text-decoration-skip: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">www.AsteroidDay.org</a>

Asteroid Day

<span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; background-color: transparent; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Asteroid Foundation was formed in 2017 with a mission to promote worldwide awareness of asteroid opportunities and challenges and the emerging space economy. The Asteroid Foundation undertakes programs and activities to support scientists, engineers, and students around the world providing free educational tools, newsletters, original articles, and resources year-round. Annually, the Foundation organizes events surrounding International Asteroid Day, a United Nations recognized day of education and awareness observed on 30 June. Read more about Asteroid Foundation’s programs on their <a href="https://asteroidfoundation.org/about/"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; color: rgb(17, 85, 204); background-color: transparent; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: underline; text-decoration-skip: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">website</a><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; background-color: transparent; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and visit their <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/182871239@N02/albums"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; color: rgb(17, 85, 204); background-color: transparent; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: underline; text-decoration-skip: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Flickr</a><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; background-color: transparent; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> account to see pictures from previous events.