It seems that the human race is facing a similar threat that took out the dinosaurs millions of years ago. NASA is calling out for aid from other countries regarding multiple asteroids that are headed towards Earth.
The agency said the space debris is travelling at a near speed of 60,000 miles per hour and is forming plans in diverting the giant rocks away from civilization. While NASA has identified a lot of asteroids orbiting perilously close to Earth, it said that more will be determined in the coming years.
NASA's Solution To the Asteroid Threat
One initiative that the space agency is looking at in terms of lessening this enormous debris is to launch its first-ever robotic mission to explore an asteroid near the size of Earth, said the Express. The goal in mind is to remove some of the asteroid's mass and tilt it towards a stable orbit around the moon.
Aside from robots, it seems that astronauts will also be needed to spearhead these missions. Collecting huge amounts of samples from asteroids is vital in identifying the composition of these heavenly bodies.
"Astronauts will return to Earth with far more samples than have ever been available for study, which could open new scientific discoveries about the formation of our solar system and beginning of life on Earth," NASA said. The agency is also hoping that these missions will yield useful data in preparation for its future journey to Mars.
Further missions will involve observing the velocity, orbital pattern, and the asteroids' path before coming up with ways on how these can be redirected. Currently, NASA has only identified four of this debris that they think can be veered away from Earth.
Chinese Astronomer Reveals Likely Collision Between Earth And Asteroid
Given that a lot asteroid passes through our planet, NASA's precautionary measures aren't unfounded. Astronomer Zhao Haibin of the Purple Mountain Observatory in Nanjing, China revealed that an asteroid called 2009ES will have a likely chance of colliding with Earth, reported the Morning Ledger.
As of now, the asteroid's path is within 18.8 lunar distances. This is equal to the distance of our planet's center to our moon's focal point.
"This is not about fear mongering, it's about being aware there is a potential threat, and understanding better where we are from," said Grig Richters, a director and co-founder of the annual Asteroid Day. Experts are busy drafting plans on their drawing board trying to come up with a rock-solid plan to counter the upcoming threat.
