NASA considers a nuclear option to stop asteroid 2024 YR4 from colliding with the Moon and creating dangerous debris showers toward Earth (Photo: Pinterest)
The proposed being taken by NASA scientists against a potential space rock that has a possibility of colliding with the Moon in 2032 is a nuclear blast. The asteroid is named in 2024 YR4 and was before calculations and believed to be on an impact course with the Earth. If it hits it could shower dangerous debris toward the Earth and pose a risk to satellites, astronauts aboard the International Space Station and other orbiting space vehicles. A nuclear device will be applied on the asteroid to keep it from reaching impact.
Asteroid YR4 was detected for the first time back in 2024 from the very first predictions, there was concern about this asteroid because calculations indicated that it had 3.1 chances out of 100 of striking Earth in 2032. The updated forecasts revealed that Earth could not be affected, there was still a danger of a lunar impact of an asteroid with a probability of 4.3 percent.
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In this occurrence, it would be huge for such debris released from the moon because according to estimates by scientists, this could amount to more than a thousand times the normal number of micrometeoroids hitting Earth over a few days. This increase in the amount of space debris resulting from sudden increases will be a serious challenge to orbiting satellites and human space missions.
When asteroid 2024 YR4 collides with the moon, it is expected to release energy amounting to about 6.5 megatons of TNT, hundreds of times more powerful than the Hiroshima bomb. This will cut a crater which would be just about a kilometer deep and throw nearly 100 million kilograms of material into space.
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A good part of it would find its way toward Earth where it would offer a risk to satellites and spacecraft and astronauts lie at increased danger from possibly severe impacts.
The stakes include NASA's view, robust nuclear disruption missions through which the risk would only seem to be exist, a recent study on this area within the arXiv preprint server suggested that such missions could be dispatched between 2029 and 2031 ahead of the predicted impact. This proposal is still evaluating evidence within the scientific realm and symptomatic of how seriously asteroid problems are taken by space agencies not only vis-a-vis Earth but also from our closest celestial neighbor.
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Disclaimer: This article is based on preliminary scientific studies. The asteroid threat and proposed measures remain under review and are not official NASA plans.
