We know that the Earth has been periodically hit by asteroids that have the potential to wipe out life on Earth. NASA has been mapping the vast and endless realm of space for such asteroids which have the ability to hit Earth and cause Armageddon. However, the vastness of the space makes this a difficult task. Recently NASA discovered more than a thousand asteroids which are heading towards Earth prompting it to ask other space agencies for help in tracking them. The space agency has said that a significant number of asteroids will be heading towards the Earth in the next five years.
NASA has asked other countries to help it to ward off these asteroids which are traveling at about 55,923 mph away from civilization. There are hundreds of such space rocks which are orbiting dangerously close to Earth. Much more could be discovered in the coming few years. NASA has launched a Robotic probe to an asteroid to remove some of its mass to redirect it in a stable orbit around the moon.
NASA will be conducting some missions to know the velocity, orbit, size and spin of the asteroids before deciding if such deadly rocks could be redirected. So far it has found only four such flying rocks which can be diverted. Robots will collect materials from the asteroid for analysis which will help in knowing the composition of the asteroids. Other missions will be crewed by astronauts.
Asteroids have potential to cause enormous damage if they hit the Earth. The Dinosaurs have been wiped out probably by one such asteroid hit in the past. Asteroids are leftover materials from the formation of the solar system and the beginning of life on Earth. In recent times asteroids have passed perilously close to Earth. Only last week an asteroid dubbed 2016 SR2 passed by Earth.
