The human race’s fascination with the moon has enriched art and literature to no small extent. After December 22, 2032 — irregardless of what happens — the fiction mills will have fresh grist.
Some years ago, scientists had noticed a rogue asteroid whose celestial swagger was initially believed to bring it close to earth, but later determined to be a false alarm.
However, another worry now looms — the probability of asteroid 2024 YR4 smashing into the moon, as recently flagged by the James Webb telescope. The probability is still small — 4.3 per cent — but large enough to set alarm bells going.
Space scientists are watching with bated breath: If the asteroid hits the moon, the ejected debris — after a spectacular ‘meteor shower’ event — could destroy several satellites and even cheat the earth’s atmosphere to reach the surface and cause untold damage.
Now, the question is, can this rogue be deflected?
The answer is ‘yes’, for it has been done before. On September 26, 2022, NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft collided with the asteroid Dimorphos. In what has been described as a “smashing success”, the DART spacecraft crashed into the space rock at 24,000 kmph, altering Dimorphos’ trajectory and shape.
But the success story has a flip side — the lurking debris could prove potentially hazardous.
So, we have a City-Killer (as 2024 YR4 is sometimes referred to) hurtling towards us, but there is little we can do except watch the sky for the dazzling meteor shower and hope our atmosphere can handle well the falling debris.
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Published on August 11, 2025
