What is Nasa's biggest concern regarding asteroids?

Nasa's biggest concern is the medium-sized asteroids, approximately 140 meters or larger, that could cause regional damage, because many of them are still unknown.

Can Earth defend itself against asteroids like in the movies?

Nasa admits that while missions like Dart have proven deflection is possible, Earth is not currently prepared to actively deflect an asteroid threat if one were imminent.

What is Nasa doing to find unknown asteroids?

Nasa is launching the Surveyor mission in 2027 with the goal of finding at least 90 percent of asteroids wider than 140 meters within a decade.

Home / Science / Nasa Warns: Earth Defenseless Against Unknown Asteroids

Nasa Warns: Earth Defenseless Against Unknown Asteroids

16 Feb

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Summary

Thousands of undetected asteroids pose a significant threat.
Nasa admits Earth lacks immediate asteroid deflection capabilities.
A 2027 mission aims to significantly improve asteroid detection.

Nasa Warns: Earth Defenseless Against Unknown Asteroids

Earth faces a significant threat from approximately 15,000 undetected medium-sized asteroids, Nasa officials warned recently. These 'city killer' rocks are in striking distance of our planet, and current detection capabilities are insufficient to identify them all.

While a 2026 mission called Dart successfully demonstrated the ability to deflect an asteroid, Nasa admits we are not prepared for an emergency. Dr. Nancy Chabot highlighted that 50% of asteroids around 140 meters in size remain unknown, leaving us unable to actively deflect a threat.

The lack of preparedness stems from insufficient investment in planetary defense infrastructure. Dr. Kelly Fast emphasized that medium-sized asteroids, capable of causing regional damage, are the most concerning because they are largely unmapped.

Currently, only about 40% of these 25,000 potential regional threats have been identified. To address this, Nasa is launching the Surveyor mission in 2027, aiming to locate 90% of asteroids larger than 140 meters within a decade.

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