Program areas at B612 Foundation
The B612 Asteroid Institute launched ADAM::Precovery, a service that helps asteroid hunters locate known objects in historical datasets, improving orbit accuracy and impact probability calculations. The Asteroid Institute also developed a unified dataset incorporating multiple astronomical surveys, even those not initially designed for asteroid discovery. This powerful resource, hosted on Google Cloud, now includes around 5.3 billion data points to support new asteroid discoveries. With tools like Precovery and THOR, ADAM enables astronomers worldwide to detect millions of previously unseen objects. Learn more at b612.ai.
In June 2023, B612 introduced the Schweickart Prize program, an esteemed award named after co-founder and Apollo 9 astronaut Rusty Schweickart. This prize aims to inspire contributions to planetary defense and underscore humanity's collective responsibility in the cosmos. The Schweickart Prize will honor an outstanding graduate student or postdoctoral fellow for their innovative ideas and leadership in planetary defense. Recipients will receive $10,000, global recognition, and a unique award featuring a museum-quality meteorite.The first winner will be announced in 2024. Learn more at www.schweickartprize.org.
B612's Asteroid Education program raises awareness about asteroids and science through public speaking, media exposure, and various outreach activities. Highlights in 2023 included a day-long Asteroid Day event at the California Academy of Sciences, stories about our work, and talks on why learning about asteroids matters. Other activities included TEDxSonoma, technical internship programs, and press interviews. Learn more at b612foundation.org/