On Dec. 27, 2024, a 100-meter wide asteroid “2024 YR4” was discovered by an automated telescope in Chile and judged to have a 1 to 2 percent chance of hitting the Earth in 2032.
Even though the chances are very small, were an asteroid of this size to hit the Earth, it might cause enough damage to take out a city, whereas the “extinction” asteroid that ended the reign of the dinosaurs was 10 to 15 kilometers wide.
Nevertheless, discovery of the YR4 asteroid triggered the notification of two asteroid monitoring groups: The International Asteroid Warning Network (IAWN), established by United Nations recommendation in 2013 and now coordinated by the United States National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA); And the Space Mission Planning Advisory Group, also endorsed by the United Nations in 2013 and coordinated by the European Space Agency (ESA).
But now China may be using this asteroid threat to justify an escalation in its own efforts to defend against asteroids and potentially other space threats.
“China has begun recruiting for a planetary defense force after risk assessments determined that an asteroid could conceivably hit Earth in 2032,” notes a Feb. 14 report in The Guardian, by Taipei-based reporter Helen Davidson. […]
— Read More: www.worldtribune.com
