A group of concerned scientists and former NASA Astronauts has written an open letter to the Rudd government urging the reinstatement of the Spaceguard Australia program and underscoring Australia's critical role in the worldwide planetary defence effort. According to science writer Leigh Dayton in The Australian, since 1996 no southern hemisphere telescopes have been scanning the sky, resulting in a blind spot in coverage which could potentially delay NEO detection by four to twelve years.

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