#018: Searching for Asteroid Threats and Space Junk - Dr. Vishnu Reddy

Biosphere 2 Podcast

Today we are joined by Dr. Vishnu Reddy. Dr. Reddy is an Associate Professor of Planetary Sciences at the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory at the University of Arizona. Prior to serving as faculty, Vishnu was a research scientist at the Planetary Science Institute in Tucson. He is a co-investigator of NASA's Near Earth Camera Mission to discover 90% of Near Earth Objects larger than 140M. In addition to his work with NASA, Vishnu is part of the space- situational awareness program at UArizona where he has developed a network of small optical sensors to characterize orbital debris and active resident space objects for the US Air Force Research Laboratory. Dr. Reddy’s research focuses on understanding the behavior of space objects (both natural and artificial) using a range of Earth and space-based assets. In this episode, Dr. Reddy shares his amazing and unorthodox journey of becoming a planetary scientist. We discuss in-depth the threats that near earth objects like asteroids and comets pose to our society, and revisit catastrophic and regional impact events from the past. Dr. Reddy discusses his current research and the changes in congressional support for asteroid research in more recent years. Vishnu's passion for planetary science and teaching is palpable, and I hope you enjoy this episode.