Is NASA nuking an asteroid? Real-life Armageddon could happen by 2031 | Details
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Nuclear attack on asteroid could happen in the next few years. Photograph: (Freepik)
Can NASA nuke an asteroid? It has plans to do so with asteroid 2024 YR4, which is predicted to crash into our Moon in 2032. If the asteroid hits the Moon, 100,000,000 kilograms of debris could be generated, and most of it could rain down on Earth.
NASA is considering going Armageddon on an asteroid that could crash into our Moon in 2032. Asteroid 2024 YR4 was earlier predicted to hit Earth, but later calculations put our planet in the safe zone. However, the worries didn't end here as scientists then noted that it could hit the Moon. If this happens, a huge amount of debris will be released from the lunar surface, which can then rain down on Earth, impacting satellites and the astronauts at the International Space Station. So the American space agency is now thinking about nuking the space rock. The idea of blasting a nuclear weapon was published in a study available on the arXiv preprint server. The yet-to-be-peer-reviewed paper quoted NASA experts as saying that “nuclear robust disruption missions” could be deployed between 2029 to 2031 to end the threat posed by the asteroid. This becomes important considering the consequences of a crash on the Moon.
Asteroid YR4 2024 and an impact in 2032
If an asteroid the size of 2024 YR4 strikes the Moon, a huge debris field will be created comprising micrometeoroids, which can then rain down on Earth. The amount of debris falling towards us could increase by up to 1,000 times the normal background level over several days. Asteroid YR4 2024 was estimated to have a 3.1 per cent chance of hitting Earth in 2032 after being first spotted last year. But this changed, and the Moon is now believed to be in direct line of an impact. The probability of that happening has increased to 4.3 per cent. Also Read: City killer asteroid can shoot meteorites like bullets at Earth in 2032. Who is at risk?
What will happen when asteroid YR4 2024 collides with the Moon?
Supposing that asteroid 2024 YR4 is around 174ft-220ft, 100,000,000 kilograms of debris will be generated when it crashes into the Moon. Most of it is expected to come hurtling towards Earth, endangering satellites, the International Space Station and astronauts. Other spacecraft will also bear the brunt as the debris could puncture them, rendering them unworkable. Scientists from the University of Western Ontario also found that the space rock will release energy equivalent to 6.5 megatons of TNT upon impact with our lunar satellite. This is more than the energy released by the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945 during World War II, which stood at nearly 0.015 megatons of TNT. It will also gouge a one-kilometre-deep crater in the Moon.
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