An asteroid that seemed to possibly be headed towards a collision with Earth’s moon should sail past it, NASA said this week.
“Using data from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope observations collected on Feb. 18 and 26, experts from NASA’s Center for Near-Earth Object Studies at the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California have refined near-Earth asteroid 2024 YR4’s orbit and are ruling out a chance of lunar impact on Dec. 22, 2032,” the space agency explained in a March 5 press release.
This asteroid was first identified in December 2024 there were concerns that it might careen into the moon – with some projections indicating a 4.3% percent chance of lunar impact.
NASA’s new data indicates the asteroid will miss the moon by 13,200 miles. For reference, that’s about the same length of the Great Wall of China, according to the BBC.
“The observation team, led by the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, used Webb to capture the two additional observations of 2024 YR4 in an application of the telescope’s unique capabilities,” said NASA. “Since spring of 2025, the asteroid has been unobservable from both Earth and space-based observatories except for this use of Webb to make among the faintest ever observations of an asteroid.”
In addition to 2024 YR4 not being a threat in 2032, NASA said there isn’t a significant impact risk through the next century. Still, research has shown there are other asteroids that may pose impact risks, Audacy reported last May.
NASA has plans to send the Near-Earth Object (NEO) Surveyor – the first telescope designed to detect asteroids and comets that may be potential threats to Earth – no earlier than next September. It is expected to be equipped with sensitive infrared detectors will track space objects near Earth.
“NEO Surveyor will be able to find asteroids that approach Earth from the direction of the Sun, as well as ones both leading and trailing our planet's orbit, where they are typically obscured by the glare of sunlight,” said NASA. “All of these are threats that larger ground-based observatories could miss.”