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- Scientists consider blowing up asteroid 2024 YR4 to prevent Moon impact in 2032
- Asteroid 2024 YR4 is about 60 metres wide and may hit the Moon, not Earth
- Lunar impact could endanger satellites and the International Space Station
Did our AI summary help? Let us know. Switch To Beeps Mode Scientists are taking precautions against Asteroid 2024 YR4, which might hit the Moon in 2032. Instead of the usual plan to deflect the asteroid, scientists are proposing a bold move: blowing it up. The asteroid 2024 YR4, which initially created a buzz over the possibility that it might be a threat to Earth, could hit the Moon after six years.
Notably, the threat from this asteroid, which is about 60 meters wide, is relatively small and won't cause Earth-shattering damage, but hitting the Moon could still have big consequences for our planet.
Experts have expected that a lunar impact would throw up tonnes of debris, threatening satellites and also the International Space Station (ISS). The impact could create a spectacular meteor shower visible from Earth, but also increase meteor risks for space assets.
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A team led by Brent Barbee of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center has analysed various possibilities to minimise the danger. The findings have been published in a pre-print paper still undergoing peer review.
When it comes to this particular asteroid, many experts have claimed that a large object should be slammed into its side to change the orbit. However, Barbee's team think it's a bad idea.
The idea of slamming an object on the asteroid is similar to what the world witnessed with the Mission DART, or Double Asteroid Redirection Test, when NASA experimented with a planetary defence technique by intentionally crashing a spacecraft into the asteroid Dimorphos, and altered its orbit around the larger asteroid Didymos.
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Deflect 2024 YR4, or destroy it?
However, 2024 YR4's case is different. The world might not have enough time to plan a deflection mission, and altering its path risks sending it toward Earth instead. There's no certainty about 2024 YR4's mass or composition, making deflection tricky.
Considering all the factors, the scientists are thinking about destruction rather than deflection due to time and data constraints. They want to redirect missions like Psyche or OSIRIS-APEX to gather crucial data on the asteroid during its close Earth-Moon flyby in 2028, as it will help them nail down the asteroid's path and risk.
The researchers have proposed a "kinetic disruption mission" to blow up the space rock with "nuclear explosive devices". According to a report by Futurism, the team proposed sending two 100-kilotonne nuclear devices to the asteroid. The device will detonate with a force roughly five to eight times more powerful than the atomic bombs dropped on Nagasaki and Hiroshima in 1945.
In short, scientists want to replicate what we saw in the Hollywood sci-fi thriller Armageddon to tackle the asteroid 2024 YR4.
The paper has been submitted to the Journal of the Astronautical Sciences, with a preprint available on the arXiv.
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