In September 2022, NASA plans to change the asteroid’s orbit by crashing a 1,340-pound (610 kg) probe into Didymos’ moon at a speed of approximately 14,000 mph (22,500 kph). The large asteroid Didymos and its small moon currently pose no threat to Earth. These may seem like far-fetched ideas, but in November 2021, NASA launched the world’s first full-scale planetary defense mission as a proof of concept: the Double Asteroid Redirection Test, or DART. To change a bigger asteroid’s path, we can either crash something into it at high speeds or detonate a nuclear warhead nearby. A second approach would involve sending a spacecraft to fly near a small- or medium-sized asteroid the gravity of the craft would slowly change the object’s orbit. The first involves regional first-aid and evacuation measures. If astronomers find a dangerous object, there are four ways to mitigate a disaster. When the 164-foot (50-meter) asteroid passes by on March 11, 2023, there is roughly a 1 in 500,000 chance of impact. The next asteroid of substantial size to potentially hit Earth is asteroid 2005 ED224. It released the equivalent of 30 Hiroshima bombs worth of energy, injured over 1,100 people and caused US$33 million in damage. In 2013, an asteroid only 65 feet (20 meters) across burst in the atmosphere 20 miles (32 km) above Chelyabinsk, Russia.
It leveled more than 80 million trees over 830 square miles (2,100 square km). In 1908, an approximately 164-foot (50-meter) celestial body exploded over the Tunguska River in Siberia. It wiped out most plant and animal species on Earth, including the dinosaurs.īut smaller objects can also cause significant damage.
The most famous and destructive impact took place 65 million years ago when a 6-mile (10-km) diameter asteroid crashed into what is now the Yucatán Peninsula. Larger objects – 0.6 miles (1 km) or more – could have global effects and even cause mass extinctions. If a celestial body of this size crashed into Earth, it could destroy an entire city and cause extreme regional devastation. Astronomers consider a near-Earth object a threat if it will come within 4.6 million miles (7.4 million km) of the planet and is at least 460 feet (140 meters) in diameter.
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