Fearing a possible deep space asteroid impact in the future, NASA, the United States space agency, has been monitoring near-earth objects over the past few years. However, as space is heavily populated, NASA often fails to track some space rocks that fly past Earth at a dangerous distance. One such incident happened on June 05, when an asteroid named 2020 LD zipped past Earth at a distance of 3,07,454 kilometers away from the planet.
NASA and ESA Missed the Close Approach
Shockingly, this close approach did not grab the attention of NASA and ESA, as these space agencies discovered this close approach two days later on June 07. A report published in Business Insider revealed that 45 asteroids went undetected in 2020, and this fact has made several people believe that NASA has already become obsolete.
According to ESA, this asteroid measured more than 100 meters in diameter, and during the time of its close approach, it was apparently traveling at a speed of 60,826 miles per hour. Considering the size of the space rock, a probable collision or mid-air explosion could have unleashed devastation in the area of impact.
The Nightmarish Memories of Chelyabinsk Meteor Explosion
As space agencies often fail to track near-earth objects, several people believe that an incident very similar to the Chelyabinsk meteor event could happen soon, and may wreak chaos in the impacted area.
It was in 2013 that a meteor measuring 20 meters in diameter exploded in the skies of Chelyabinsk, Russia. The explosion was so powerful, and it unleashed energy equivalent to the blast of 30 Hiroshima nuclear bombs.
As deep space scare looms up, top space experts including Dr Iain McDonald strongly believe that dreaded events like asteroid hits are not confined to the past, and it may happen in the future too. Popular American physicist Neil deGrasse Tyson had also claimed that the end of humankind may be due to an asteroid impact that could happen in the future.
