Scientists are considering the possibility of launching a nuclear weapon at an asteroid that could potentially hit the moon in 2032 — but they say more research is needed before taking this forward as an option.
The investigation concerns asteroid 2024 YR4, which reached notoriety shortly after its discovery in December 2024 when scientists (working with limited observations) revealed it had a relatively high chance of impacting Earth in 2032, peaking at 3.1%.
This got media attention as the 180-foot (55 meters) asteroid is large enough to wipe out a city. However, the odds of disaster quickly dropped when subsequent observations showed the asteroid was very unlikely to come near Earth. Its impact probability fell to less than 1 in 360 (0.28%) as of February 2025.
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