Ultrascope

Every so often you´ll hear about a doomsday asteroid whizzing past Earth, narrowly avoiding collision and potentially destroying property and life. However, according to Nasa´s Near-Earth Object Program every 10,000 years or so, asteroids larger than 100 meters would be expected to reach Earth´s surface and cause disasters. While the probability of an asteroid striking Earth and causing great damage is remote, smaller, less lethal asteroids fly by more often.
NASA keeps track of many of them on its website, but they represent only a fraction of asteroids in proximity with earth´s orbit. This is because NASA does not see every flying object out there because it does not dispose of enough telescopes to do the job. More effort must be made to track and even destroy them if calculations show that they are on a collision course with Earth or with an orbiting satellite.

Founded by James Parr, the Open Space Agency strives to create a community of individual space explorers to monitor space for approaching asteroids. The NGO developed plans for an open source automated robotic observatory, or ARO, that anyone passionate about space can download and fabricate with a 3D printer.
Powered by a smartphone, this home-grown "asteroid-hunting telescope" enables individuals to monitor asteroids in space and to optionally inform NASA thanks to a system that automatically uploads the information they collect so that it can be analyzed by NASA scientists. The smartphone serves as a receiving device to capture images taken by the telescope and also enables users to connect with others in the community who have the same telescope.
In addition to using it to seek out asteroids, the Ultrascope can also serve to satisfy budding astronomers´ passion for observing the stars and planets up above.

Currently at the proof-of-concept stage, the Ultrascope will eventually be delivered as a starter kit containing materials, mirror, lenses, stepper motors and shield and the 3D files to print and laser-cut the telescope chassis. The entry-level model will cost approximately 750 USD.