The Spaceguard Foundation (SGF) is a private organization based in
Frascati,
Italy, whose purpose is to study, discover and observe
near-Earth objects (NEO) and protect the
Earth from the possible threat of their collision. The
foundation is non-partisan, non-political and non-profit,[2] and acts as the international organization grouping together the
spaceguard organizations in various countries, as well as individual
astronomers and organizations interested in the foundation's activities.
The Spaceguard System is a collection of
observatories engaging in near-Earth objects (NEO) observations.[4] The Spaceguard Central Node—the
website of the foundation—manages the collection and provides the observatories with services which would optimize the international coordination of NEO followups. The individual observatories in the system participate in these services on a volunteer basis. As of 2007[update], all the observatories in the system are ground-based.
Various conventions, treaties, agreements, memorandums, charters or declarations establishing and governing intergovernmental organisations or inter-agency bodies dealing with space affairs