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Asteroid 2022 QN5 is already heading for Earth at blistering speed and is expected to just miss the planet today, according to NASA.
In a not-so-shocking news, NASA has issued yet another asteroid alert. According to the space agency, Asteroid 2022 QN5 is already on its way towards Earth and is expected to miss the planet by a close margin today, September 2. NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office has red-flagged the Asteroid 2022 QN5 as it has become the latest Near-Earth Object (NEO) to pass Earth within 8 million kilometers. Scientists say this asteroid could cause catastrophic damage on Earth if it deviates from its orbit due to the pull of Earth’s gravitational field.
Asteroids have been responsible for some of the biggest mass-destruction events in history with the recent one being the Chelyabinsk disaster when the space rock entered Earth’s atmosphere over the southern Ural region in Russia on February 15, 2013 and caused damages of nearly $33 million.
Asteroid 2022 to just miss Earth today, September 2
According to NASA, Asteroid 2022 QN5 is expected to make its closest approach to Earth today, September 2 at a distance of 936,000 kilometers. The asteroid is already heading for us at a blistering speed of 48,600 kilometers per hour. Asteroid 2022 QN5 is the fourth asteroid to pass by Earth in a span of 2 days. Just yesterday, asteroids named Asteroid 2021 CQ5, Asteroid 2022 QN5 and Asteroid 2022 QT7 flew past the planet at a close distance, alerting the various space agencies around the world.
NASA DART Mission launch today
NASA delayed the launch of its DART Mission on August 29, citing malfunction in one of the four RS-25 engines of NASA’s new Space Launch System (SLS). Now, the space agency will make another attempt to launch the mission today from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. If the launch is successful, the spacecraft will collide with its target asteroid Dimorphos on September 26 at 4:44 AM IST. The livestream for the same will begin at 3:30 AM IST. To watch it, you can go to NASA’s official website, YouTube channel as well as Facebook and Twitter.
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