Researchers have a sci-fi movie plot point as a plan to deal with a “city killer” asteroid on a potential 2032 collision course with the moon. The team, which includes NASA scientists, published a Sept. 15 paper outlining their idea to use nuclear bombs to destroy the 300-foot asteroid named “2024 YR4.” Fans of the 1998 film Armageddon, starring Bruce Willis, are likely familiar with this concept. But instead of sending people to plant the bombs, the plan would be to launch a nuclear arsenal at the 10-story, building-sized asteroid. The space rock first made headlines when it was thought to have a historically high chance of hitting Earth. Now, the asteroid, which was discovered on Dec. 27, 2024, has a chance of hitting the moon, according to NASA’s Center for Near Earth Object Studies. An impact on our lunar body could cause moon debris to destroy satellites and potentially even threaten astronauts aboard the International Space Station. But this nuclear option comes with the risk of inadvertently altering the asteroid’s course to Earth, according to the researchers. The team says if this mission were to happen, it would need to launch between 2029 and 2031.
2024 YR4, which was discovered on Dec. 27, 2024, has a 3.8% chance of hitting the moon, per NASA’s Center for Near Earth Object Studies. ESO/O. Hainaut/via REUTERS Read it at USA Today