Particularly the Mars nuts who congregate here.

First off, it's not my plan.

The advantages of Moon based facilities for impactor detection have been analyzed by Dr. Mazanek of NASA Langley.

(By the way, Larry, this is not finding tanks in the desert, and yes he is qualified and spent his full time on the problem. I'd like to get you reassigned to work on this professionally, rather than have you firing off from the hip on that which you do not know.)

The plan is currently supported by several senior engineers at NASA Marshall and NASA Houston, as well as at NASA Goddard.

In fact, my own plan is different, in that I propose using a fuel transfer station/lifeboat in orbit around the Moon, wheras Dr. Mazanek proposes the use of dual fuel tankers.

As for the public sentiment, only about 20% favor manned Mars flight. About 70% would prefer that NASA do something useful with their money, like finding the next one before it hits.

With the use of Moon based facilities we get 2 shots at an incoming comet or asteroid, one with laser ablation, and if that fails, as second shot with nuclear charges. No other detection system provides adequate warning time.

ep