These streams, which move half a mile a year, "may be manifestations of collapse already under way," the NASA panel said.

A NASA investigative panel later concluded that pilot error caused by poor visibility due to bad weather had been the principal cause of the accident.

A NASA panel, headed by the Chief of the Astronaut Office, Alan Shepard, investigated the crash.

In February 2010, a NASA panel found that the North runway was safe and should stay as it is.

Top Experts on Panel But the NASA panel, Du Pont's people felt, was different.

"The government doesn't know how to buy software," said Barbara Corn, a retired software engineer who has served on NASA advisory panels.

Avoiding a 'Doomsday Rock' An international effort should get under way to spot and divert any asteroids that threaten a catastrophic collision with the Earth, a NASA panel said.

But last year a NASA panel said that the current version was safe, and a group of new Congress members came into office with a mandate to cut the deficit.

The NASA panel estimated that some 2,000 of the large, scary asteroids come near enough to worry about, of which fewer than 200 have been identified.

A NASA panel selected the name following a nationwide student contest that attracted more than 9,000 proposals via the Internet and mail.