Recently, Earth was struck by a small meteor and nearly hit by a larger object. Many objects' paths intersect Earth's orbit, and will eventually colide with our planet. These recent events show such an impact is possible, and proper steps to prevent impacts in the future should be taken. An impact event can only be stopped with advance warning, which can only come from proper observation. Currently, most observation is done by a small number of amateur astronomers. We believe the federal government should increase NASA's funding in order to reduce the risk of an unprecedented global ecological catastrophe by allowing professionals equipped with the proper equipment to monitor space objects with Earth-crossing paths



