The Asteroid Threat to Earth: A Growing Concern for Our Planet’s Safety
Asteroids, man, they’ve been a thing for NASA and those science peeps for ages, right? Lotsa potential threats to our planet, it’s kinda scary tbh. As we keep exploring space – which is awesome, btw – we gotta stay on top of what’s happening with asteroid detection and all that. In this here article, we’ll dive into the latest news and updates on asteroid threats, and what NASA’s doin’ to, like, prevent or lessen the impact of a potential asteroid smackdown. I’m kinda nervous just thinking about it!
The Asteroid Threat Assessment: A Comprehensive Report (kinda scary)
In 2020, NASA put out a report, a big one, on the asteroid threat. They found, like, 18,000 near-Earth objects (NEOs) bigger than 140 meters – that’s HUGE! – and about 99% of them are asteroids that could hit us. [1] Seriously?! That’s a lot of potential doom and gloom. Makes you think, huh?
NASA’s Asteroid Detection and Tracking Efforts
NASA’s NEO Surveyor mission, launched in 2018, is supposed to find and track near-Earth objects using a combination of ground and space telescopes. It’s made some progress, finding stuff like asteroid (471199) 2016 HO3, which whizzed past us in 2022. [2] Phew! Close one.
International Cooperation: A Key to Preventing Asteroid Impacts (we need to work together!)
We gotta work together on this, seriously. The UN had a meeting about it in 2020, calling for international cooperation. [3] ESA and NASA are also teaming up – which is good, because this is a big problem.
Recent Asteroid Close Approaches
In 2020, asteroid (101955) Bennu came pretty close – like, within 1.2 million miles. [4] That’s close enough to make me jump, you know? It shows we need to keep a close eye on things.
Asteroid Redirect Mission (ARM): A Step Forward (but it got cancelled…bummer)
The ARM mission got cancelled in 2019, which is a shame. It was supposed to change an asteroid’s path, but oh well. It still helped us learn stuff for future missions.
Q&A: Asteroid Threats to Earth
Q: What is the likelihood of an asteroid impact in the near future?
A: NASA says it’s a small chance, but still… They’re working hard to find and track these things to make sure we’re safe. It’s a lot of work!
Q: How can I stay informed about asteroid threats to Earth?
A: Follow NASA’s NEO Program – they give updates.
Q: What can we do to prevent asteroid impacts?
A: We need to work together, do more research, and keep finding these things. It’s a team effort!
Conclusion
Asteroid threats are serious, but with research and cooperation, we can handle it. We need to stay informed, you know? It’s a big, scary universe out there!
References
[1] NASA. (2020). Asteroid Threat Assessment. Retrieved from
[2] NASA. (2022). Near-Earth Object (NEO) Program. Retrieved from
[3] United Nations. (2020). Resolution on the Prevention of Asteroid Impacts. Retrieved from
[4] NASA. (2020). Near-Earth Object (NEO) Program. Retrieved from
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