Planetary defense from near-Earth objects such as asteroids is a far more nuanced and challenging topic than it might seem. Each day, technology is making it easier to detect asteroid impact threats in advance, but at present, there is still no easy way to design and implement any form of global defense. This book examines how various asteroid deflection methods can change global political affairs. The authors believe that the final policy for potential Earth impacts should be based on practical engineering solutions and innovative architectural structures, while at the same time reflecting the most recent political science contributions in ethical security studies and security cosmopolitanism. Their focus is not limited to effective engineering solutions, but rather extends to how such proposals resonate in possible political structures of the future. Planetary defense cannot be achieved with technology alone; the chapters in this volume highlight the issues that arise when space science and technology intersect with political science. This complex interdisciplinary project not only demands global participation and collaboration, but also proposes the way we can achieve it. The authors explore various concepts of governance and their far-reaching implications for planetary defense and vice versa-how scientific progress in Solar System observations and asteroid collision engineering influence political science and put pressure on the international legal framework. The text is intentionally written for a diverse scholarly and diplomatic audience in a style accessible to non-specialists and practitioners and can be read by those across diverse disciplinary backgrounds.

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Dr. Nikola Schmidt (born 1982 in Prague, Czech Republic) is currently a leader of Planetary Defense project with an objective to deliver a policy strategy on planetary defense and asteroid mining for the Czech Ministry of Transport. The project consists of astronomers, space engineers, international lawyers and political scientists. He finished his PhD in 2016 at Charles University, Faculty of Social Sciences and Institute of Political Studies with a dissertation on The Birth of Cyber as a National Security Agenda. Nikola has been extensively teaching courses on space and cyber security at various Czech universities. His passion in space issues can be dated long before his master studies of international relations at Metropolitan University. A pivotal moment for Nikola was his participation in the ESA and NASA-funded planetary defense team project at the Space Studies Program, organized by the International Space University in Athens, Ohio, US in 2015. Nikola received a bachelor's degree in sociology and studied international security at Sciences Po in Paris. His recent articles were published in Acta Astronautica and New Space. Nikola founded and led two software development companies before coming back to academia and worked on a NGO-driven food facility project in Afghanistan.

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