E10.1 Planetary Defence: The Australian Context within the International Asteroid Warning Network (IAWN)
Symposium: E10. IAF SYMPOSIUM ON PLANETARY DEFENSE AND NEAR-EARTH OBJECTS
Session: 1. Planetary Defense from Asteroids and Comets
Day: Thursday 02.10.2025
Time: 15:00
Room: C2.3
Key asteroids in 2023, 2024 and 2025 gained global media attention upon their first discovery due to their close approach or initial estimates of impact probability with Earth. Most notably asteroid 2024 YR4 recently established an impact probability of 3.6\% with a Torino scale level of 3 during February 2025, the highest in 20 years, only exceeded by asteroid Apophis 99942 at Torino level 4. Now at Torino 0, 2024 YR4 galvanised initial thoughts on Planetary Defence strategies for 2032, its then predicted impact date.
The Southern Hemisphere Asteroid Research Consortium (SHARC) located in Australia is an active and informal entity. SHARC is composed of the Universities of New South Wales, Tasmania, Western Australia and Curtin performing asteroid research with federal agencies, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) and the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). Several Australian SHARC members are also International Asteroid Warning Network (IAWN) delegates, contributing astrometric and photometric data on potentially hazardous Earth orbit crossing asteroids, the so-called Apollo and Aten types. The international Space Mission Advisory Planning Group (SMPAG) works with the IAWN on policy formulation and planning for asteroid events but Australian SMPAG membership is yet to be realised. Both IAWN and SMPAG work with the United Nations Office of Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) and UN delegations for international coordination.
Australia is no stranger to disaster monitoring and response. In this paper we discuss an indicative approach to linking Australian Government entities to IAWN, SMPAG and first responders noting existing legislations and guidance such as the Australian Government Crisis Management Framework (AGCMF), and how Australia might consider a potential asteroid impact event either on its own soil, regionally or internationally.
The intense media interest about 2004 YR4 early in 2025 underscored the Australian public’s curiosity and concern about planetary defence from natural space objects. We discuss experiences and highlight Australia’s unique southern geographic location and capabilities to support global asteroid monitoring efforts in both radar and optical observational modes.