Space & Astronomy

Scientists mull over plan to blow up Moon-bound asteroid with a nuke

By T.K. Randall
September 28, 2025 ·  11 comments

Image: AI-generated (Midjourney) Earlier this year, concerns were raised when a fast-approaching space rock known as Asteroid 2024 YR4 was determined to have a 1 in 83 chance of colliding with the Earth in 2032.

As the days and weeks went on, the odds of a collision seemed to keep increasing and at one point were as high as 1 in 32 (still not enormous but sufficient enough to raise eyebrows).

Fortunately, though, once better observations of the object were made, the odds were ultimately revised down to the point of irrelevance with just a 0.001% chance of striking the Earth.

That would seem to have been the end of it, but more recently, astronomers analyzing the asteroid have determined that it now has a not-insignificant chance of colliding with the Moon instead.

As things stand, there is thought to be a 3.8% chance that it could hit the Moon. This might not seem to be our problem, but if this did actually happen, it might mess up our own manned space program (especially any efforts to land humans or build a base on the Moon) and could even shower the Earth with micrometeoroids.

As a result, scientists at NASA have published a new study proposing various different missions designed to stop the space rock from ever hitting our nearest neighbor.

One option would be to slam something into it and deflect its trajectory while another would involve basically destroying it - potentially even using nuclear weapons to do the deed.

Whatever option is chosen, a reconnaissance mission would likely be needed to ascertain the object's precise weight and size so that any attempt to stop it could be adjusted accordingly.

Of course, the chances of it hitting the Moon at all are still very small, but it doesn't harm to be prepared for all eventualities.

At the very least, it could be considered a dry-run for a scenario in which an asteroid might threaten our own planet in the future, necessitating such a mission for our very survival.

Source: Science Alert | Comments (11)

Tags: Moon, Asteroid