The Grand Challenge

NASA has proposed an all-hands-on-deck approach in the fight against potentially dangerous earth-bound asteroids.

In a call to arms announced this week, NASA has stated it is open to suggestions from all credible sources for ways to prevent a potentially devastating asteroid strike on Earth. That list of credible sources includes other government agencies, international partners, industry, academia, and citizen scientists. NASA is calling this program The Grand Challenge.

That’s right, you and I could potentially submit our proposal as citizen scientists. I’m not sure if my birdwatching (I’ll get to that in a minute) or my home weather station would qualify me as a citizen scientist. I’m more likely qualified as a citizen journalist (and therefore more able to write about proposals than submit one).

Who knew that I or any member of the family could make such a submission? We certainly weren’t considering such a notion a few years back when we visisted Cape Canaveral during a Florida family trip.

Still, I have to say, I like the approach. Gather all the best minds you can and try to tackle this problem head-on rather than wait and just hope the large chunks of space rock keep whizzing by during near-miss after near-miss.

I think the double whammy the space community experienced back in February – when they were expecting a close pass from Asteroid 2012 DA14 a few hours after a large meteor impacted Chelyabinsk, Russia in an unrelated event – started these wheels in motion. I haven’t heard that, officially, but it makes common sense.

A cosmic wake-up call. 

Considering they are putting this notice out world-wide, I think immense possibilities are likely. Getting the academic community involved makes sense, too. You never know what mind will have the creative approach that just might bring the solution.

And speaking of creative approaches…

I told you earlier about some birdwatching (not to be confused with the bat watching I’ve written about before). Near said bat pole, this evening Holly and I witnessed the curious Blue Jay practice of ‘anting.’

I’ve read about anting but had never witnessed it before.  Basically, this Jay sort of squatted down on the ground – presumably near an ant hill. It spread one of its wings out for a while and then alternated with the other side.  In between, you could see it pecking away and then rubbing its beak into the feathers on the flexed wing.

What it was doing was the practice of ‘anting,’ which is to say, it was rubbing ants against its feathers.

Bird experts are split on the actual purpose of anting. Ants produce a chemical compound that wards off predators. The chemical makes the ant unpleasant to ingest. One theory is that the bird is coaxing the ant to rid itself of the chemical compound – to empty its tank – before munching away. A second theory is that the when the bird is rubbing the ant against its feathers, the chemical is somehow cleansing the feathers. In that way, it is like a shampoo job. The thinking is the chemical helps cleanse the bird against parasites or other pests.

I didn’t get close enough to the Jay to see if it was eating or bathing – whether the ant was, in essence like a red grape or Redken. Curiously, there were two Jays alternating in the practice. Maybe it was a couple? Or a copy cat? Later, I went back to the spot where I saw the bird on the ground and, sure enough, there was a very obvious ant hill right there.

In any case, it was fun to watch them in action. It’s interesting to see creativity on display.

I’m sure that’s what NASA is hoping for, as well, with The Grand Challenge.

JG

Originally posted 6/20/2013