An international team of scientists has developed strategies to neutralize asteroid 2024 YR4, which could collide with the Moon in 2032, causing a dangerous cloud of space debris in Earth’s orbit.
An international team of researchers from NASA and leading American institutions has presented strategies to prevent the potential collision of asteroid 2024 YR4 with the Moon in 2032.
The celestial body, with a diameter of about 60 meters, has a 4% chance of falling onto the lunar surface. The James Webb Space Telescope detected the object in March of this year, but its mass has not yet been precisely determined and could range from 33 to 930 million kilograms.
Scientists have ruled out the option of altering the asteroid’s trajectory, as a mistake could risk redirecting it toward Earth. A reconnaissance mission to refine the parameters is only possible in 2028, leaving three years to prepare for the main operation.
The researchers are considering two scenarios for destroying the asteroid. The first is to use a kinetic impact from a spacecraft capable of completely shattering the object. The second is to detonate a nuclear charge on or near the asteroid’s surface.
The launch window for the kinetic method mission will be from April 2030 to April 2032, and for the nuclear option, from late 2029 to late 2031. According to scientists, an asteroid collision with the Moon could create a cloud of micrometeorites in low-Earth orbit, posing a threat to spacecraft.
