NASA announced on Monday it will start an "Asteroid Data Hunter" contest and will offer $35,000 to those who can create algorithms to find asteroids in outer space that pose a threat to planet Earth.
The first contest will begin on March 17, according to MINING. Competitors can create an account on the contest series website, where they can learn about the rules and different phases of the competition.
Jason Crusan, NASA Tournament Lab director, talked about the significance of the lab in NASA's research on asteroids, RedOrbit reported.
"For the past three years, NASA has been learning and advancing the ability to leverage distributed algorithm and coding skills through the NASA Tournament Lab to solve tough problems," Crusan said. "We are now applying our experience with algorithm contests to helping protect the planet from asteroid threats through image analysis."
Last year, NASA claimed that Earth was safe from an asteroid that was supposed to hit the planet in 2036, according to CNET. However, there have been near misses and collisions of small asteroids over the past few years, with an undetected 20-meter asteroid crashing into Russia last year with the force of 500,000 tons of TNT, injuring about 1,000 people.
Chris Lewicki, president and chief engineer of Planetary Resources, talked about how the contest will be a great opportunity to find ways to keep Earth safe.
"Current asteroid detection initiatives are only tracking one percent of the estimated objects that orbit the Sun," Lewicki said. "We are excited to partner with NASA in this contest to help increase the quantity and knowledge about asteroids that are potential threats, human destinations, or resource rich."
Participants in the contest must develop algorithms to identify asteroids in images taken by ground-based telescopes, according to RedOrbit. NASA stated the winning algorithm will be able to increase the detection sensitivity, decrease the amount of false positives, discard imperfections in the data, and run on all computer systems. Jenn Gustetic, executive of the Prizes and Challenges Program, made a statement about the importance of efficient algorithms.
"Protecting the planet from the threat of asteroid impact means first knowing where they are," Gustetic said. "By opening up the search for asteroids, we are harnessing the potential of innovators and makers and citizen scientists everywhere to help solve this global challenge."
