Killer asteroid search nixed, lack of money

WASHINGTON NASA officials say the agency is capable of finding nearly all the asteroids that might pose a danger to Earth. But they say the task won't get done because there isn't enough money to pay for it.
According to a NASA report, the cost to find at least 90 percent of the 20-thousand potentially hazardous asteroids and comets by 2020 would be about one (b) billion dollars.

In 2005, Congress asked the space agency to come up with a plan to track most killer asteroids and propose how to deflect the potentially catastrophic ones.

These are asteroids that are bigger than 460 feet in diameter. Officials say that even if they don't hit Earth but explode close enough, the blast could have enough power to devastate an entire state, such as Maryland.

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