How Can We Protect Earth?
Major impacts from asteroids have happened throughout Earth’s history and will happen again in the future. Impacts big enough to affect large populations of humans are extremely rare, and currently there are no known objects threatening us for the next 1,000 years. But, considering the devastating consequences, we’re not taking any chances. NASA’s Planetary Defense is scanning the skies and creating a plan of action should anything dangerous be found. Blowing up an asteroid, like in movies, is not a good idea. It would likely take more energy than all weapons on Earth combined, and could send many smaller but still threatening pieces hurdling toward us. Instead, the plan is to find the threat early enough that a small nudge will throw it off course, missing Earth entirely. The DART mission was the first test of this method, and in 2022 it successfully crashed a spacecraft into an asteroid and measurably changed its motion. Read More
Latest News About Asteroids and Comets
NASA’s DART mission may have changed the shape of asteroid Dimorphos
March 19, 2024
Scientists are eager to see what it looks like now, and will likely get their chance in 2026 Read more
Explosive, green 'devil comet' has hidden spiral swirling around its icy heart
March 18, 2024
A previously unrecognized spiral of light was spotted in Comet 12P's coma in new images Read more
Zero chance of potential city-killer asteroid 'Apophis' smashing into Earth in 2029
March 7, 2024
It will pass ten times closer than the Moon, narrowly missing satellites in orbit around our planet Read more
NASA’s planetary radar images slowly spinning asteroid
February 26, 2024
The Deep Space Network planetary radar gathered the first detailed images of the stadium-size asteroid Read more
Water found on the surface of an asteroid for the 1st time ever
February 14, 2024
Scientists made the discovery using data gathered by NASA's now-retired SOFIA airborne observatory Read more
1st look at asteroid Bennu samples suggests space rock may even be 'a fragment of an ancient ocean world'
February 6, 2024
We're going to be busy for a long, long time Read more
Asteroid that impacted near Berlin identified as a rare Aubrite
February 5, 2024
They were devilishly difficult to find because they look like other rocks on Earth Read more
Darn. No caverns on Rosetta’s comet
February 4, 2024
It has a low density suggesting a porous interior, but the porosity does not take the form of caves Read more
Ceres: The closest dwarf planet to Earth
February 4, 2024
It contains a layer of salty water deep underground that can occasionally reach the surface Read more
Samples from Wild 2 comet reveal a surprising past
January 16, 2024
Eighteen years later, the true nature of that icy object is coming into focus Read more
NASA can't wait for its OSIRIS-APEX spacecraft to meet 'God of Chaos' asteroid Apophis in 2029
December 29, 2023
It will be an asteroid flyby like no other in recorded history Read more
Tatahouine: "Star Wars meteorite" sheds light on the early Solar System
December 26, 2023
A mysterious 1931 meteorite is obviously not a fragment of Skywalker’s home planet Read more
‘Head-scratcher’: first look at asteroid dust brought to Earth offers surprises
December 12, 2023
“We now have abundant pristine material” from the dawn of the Solar System Read more
Ryugu samples illuminate terrestrial weathering effects on primitive meteorites
December 11, 2023
The Ryugu samples avoided terrestrial alteration Read more
The comet-asteroid Chiron has rings — and they're changing
December 6, 2023
When found in 1977, it was the farthest minor planet known at the time Read more
Near-Earth asteroids: Hunting and tracking upcoming encounters
December 4, 2023
NASA and other space agencies actively monitor asteroids with the potential to hit our planet Read more
‘Bouncing comets’ could spread the seeds of life
November 24, 2023
It might happen most easily in systems where several planets orbit fairly close together Read more
Samples of asteroid Ryugu show signs of ancient water
November 16, 2023
The distribution of elements in the samples brought back by Hayabusa 2 hints at a wet past Read more
Citizen scientists find a rarity: an asteroid trying to be a comet
November 10, 2023
An object that occasionally sports a tail is spotted in archival images Read more
Strange moon of asteroid Dinkinesh is weirder than thought after NASA probe finds 'contact binary'
November 7, 2023
"We never suspected anything so bizarre!" Read more
Chicxulub asteroid impact created 2-year cloud of dust that may have killed the dinosaurs
November 1, 2023
"The asteroid didn't kill all the dinosaurs in one go" Read more
After DART smashed into Dimorphos, what happened to the larger asteroid Didymos?
October 25, 2023
The results indicate Didymos escaped mostly unscathed Read more
Are ultradense asteroids made of elements not seen on Earth?
October 20, 2023
Those are elements that are off the charts of the periodic table Read more
‘Incredible’ asteroid sample ferried to Earth is rich in the building blocks of life
October 11, 2023
It includes clay minerals with water trapped inside their crystal structures Read more
Close calls: How many asteroids have narrowly missed Earth?
October 9, 2023
Rogue space rocks come closer to Earth than you may realize Read more
A comet explosion may have started agriculture in Syria 12,800 years ago
October 8, 2023
Post-event remains show their diet had shifted to grains and lentils Read more
SOFIA provides insights into the metallic characteristics of asteroid Psyche
October 8, 2023
It may have been the iron-rich interior of a forming planet Read more
6 things to know about NASA’s asteroid-exploring Psyche mission
October 5, 2023
This is the first-ever mission to study a metal-rich asteroid Read more
Why high inclination comets could be Earth’s real threat
September 30, 2023
Mercifully, such cometary interlopers appear to be infrequent Read more
NASA’s first asteroid sample has landed, now secure in clean room
September 24, 2023
After years of anticipation, OSIRIS-REx's capsule of rocks and dust is on Earth Read more
Fascinating Facts About The Main Asteroid Belt
- The asteroid belt is estimated to contain between 1.1 and 1.9 million asteroids larger than 1 kilometer in diameter and millions of smaller ones.
- Ceres is the largest asteroid in the inner Solar System and the only one classified as a dwarf planet.
- Ceres, Vesta, Pallas and Hygiea contain about half of the mass of the entire asteroid belt.
- The average distance between two asteroids in the belt is about 950,000 kilometers.
- Kirkwood gaps in the asteroid belt are relatively empty regions thought to be a result of Jupiter’s gravitational pull and correspond to the planet’s orbital resonances.
- Ceres is the only object in the asteroid belt known to be in hydrostatic equilibrium, meaning its own gravity causes it to be roughly spherical in shape.
- Ceres is the only object in the asteroid belt where water has been discovered; the water is seen as vapor rising from the surface, possibly from erupting icy volcanoes.
- Vesta is the brightest asteroid in the Solar System and the only object in the asteroid belt visible from Earth without a telescope.
Missions
OSIRIS-REx (2016-present)
NASA spacecraft to collect and return a sample from near-Earth asteroid Bennu
Hayabusa2 (2014-2020)
Japanese spacecraft to collect and return of a sample from near-Earth asteroid Ryugu
Dawn (2007-2018)
NASA spacecraft to study Vesta and Ceres in the Main Asteroid Belt
Deep Impact (2005-2006)
NASA spacecraft to look beneath surface of comet Tempel 1 by observing planned impact of projectile
Rosetta (2004-2016)
European spacecraft, and Philae lander, to study and land on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko
Hayabusa (2003-2010)
Japanese spacecraft, and MINERVA lander, to collect and return a sample from near-Earth asteroid Itokawa
Stardust/Stardust NExT (1999-2011)
NASA spacecraft to collect and return dust from comet Wild 2 to Earth and explore comet Tempel 1