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The National Aeronautics of Space Administration (NASA) found in its hypothetical exercise that a never-before-seen asteroid could have a 72 percent chance of hitting Earth. These observations were made during the fifth biennial Planetary Defense Interagency Tabletop Exercise. NASA released a summary of this hypothetical exercise on June 20.
The US space agency said NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office in collaboration with FEMA (Office of the US Department of Space Affairs) conducted this tabletop exercise. It said that its aim was to evaluate the country’s preparedness and response capabilities in the event of a threat from a dangerous asteroid or comet.
In a statement, it said, “Although there are no known significant threats of asteroid impact in the near future, hypothetical exercises provide valuable insights by exploring the risks, response options, and opportunities for collaboration posed by a variety of scenarios, ranging from minor regional damage with little warning to potential global catastrophes occurring years or decades in the future.”
It said, “During the exercise, a hypothetical scenario was simulated in which a never before seen asteroid was identified. According to preliminary calculations, it has a 72% chance of colliding with Earth in approximately 14 years.”
Speaking about the shape of the asteroid, it said, “The initial observations described in the exercise were, however, not sufficient to accurately determine the shape, composition, and long-term trajectory of the asteroid.”
List of other asteroids passing close to Earth this month
According to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, two asteroids will pass near Earth on June 25. The first asteroid is 2024 LO5, which is 62 feet large and will pass at a distance of 1,960,000 kilometers from Earth and the second asteroid is 2024 KJ, which is 77 feet large and will pass at a distance of 5,260,000 kilometers from Earth.
Later on June 27, a 64-foot asteroid called 2019 NJ will pass at a distance of 6,610,000 kilometers. Also, on the same day, another asteroid 415029 (2011 UL21), which is about 7,200 feet in size, will make its closest pass to Earth at a distance of 6,640,000 kilometers.
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Published: June 24, 2024, 07:25 AM IST
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