Asteroid Day: Inspiring a Global Conversation

Asteroid Day is a global programme to inspire the world about asteroids. Founded in 2014, it takes place on 30 June each year to mark the anniversary of the 1908 Tunguska impact.

Asteroid Day is a programme run by the Asteroid Foundation, a Luxembourg nonprofit organization. The main themes are planetary defense, asteroids and their role in the formation of our solar system, and asteroid resources and the new space economy. The core of Asteroid Day is a live broadcast from BCE, Luxembourg, for asteroid experts to discuss the programme's themes. Independently organised events around the world are for people of all ages and are mostly free-of-charge.

Leading people in the planetary defense community have themselves organised events and actively supported Asteroid Day, helping turn it into a global movement. In this talk, we will provide a progress report on the last seven years, in order to begin conversations about what asteroid work will be important for us to highlight in the coming years.

Asteroid Day was co-founded in 2014 by Dr. Brian May, astrophysicist and lead guitarist of QUEEN, with Danica Remy, President of B612 Foundation, Rusty Schweickart, Apollo 9 Astronaut, and filmmaker Grig Richters. In 2016, the United Nations officially designated June 30 as International Asteroid Day, a day of awareness and education about asteroids.

For the first 5 years, Asteroid Day was produced by an ad hoc team of volunteers, staffers and interns who came together about 12 weeks before 30 June. Today, the organization is run by a full-time staff based in Luxembourg. Our primary role is to promote the research, missions and people involved in the topic to a global audience. We provide free educational tools, newsletters, original articles and resources via our website. Additionally, we provide platforms for our global event organizers to share event ideas and help connect them with our network of scientists and astronauts.

Asteroid Day has made large strides educating the world about asteroids. Since the first events in 2015, the movement has grown significantly. Through Asteroid Day, we continue to inspire people and young minds to look up to the sky and be excited about our Solar System.