NASA Warns of Undetected "City-Killer" Asteroids

Speaking at the American Association for the Advancement of Science conference, NASA's planetary defense officer, Kelly Fast, emphasized the risk posed by undetected asteroids. While larger asteroids are mostly tracked, and smaller debris strikes Earth frequently, mid-sized asteroids present a significant threat of regional destruction.

Nancy Chabot of Johns Hopkins University, who led the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission, expressed concern over the lack of readily available spacecraft for deflection. The DART mission successfully altered the orbit of Dimorphos, but without a similar spacecraft ready for launch, responding to a newly discovered threat would be challenging.

The Near Earth Object Surveyor telescope, planned for launch next year, aims to improve detection capabilities. Earlier discovery of potentially hazardous asteroids is crucial for effective mitigation strategies.

The biggest threat comes from mid-sized, near-Earth asteroids that are large enough to cause regional devastation but difficult to detect.

NASA is developing the Near Earth Object Surveyor telescope to improve detection capabilities and identify potentially hazardous asteroids earlier.

– Thousands of potentially devastating asteroids remain undetected, posing a threat to Earth.

– NASA's DART mission demonstrated asteroid deflection is possible, but current resources are limited.

– Improved detection and tracking efforts are crucial for planetary defense.

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