“Numerical simulations show that all the boulders of the swarm will cross the orbit of Mars multiple times…Some of the boulders will impact Mars in the future,” stated the paper, pending peer review.
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory further explained the nature of NEOs, noting their diverse sizes ranging from a few meters to several kilometers across. While most NEOs remain at safe distances from Earth, a subset of larger asteroids, termed potentially hazardous asteroids (PHAs), merit closer scrutiny due to their proximity to Earth’s orbit.
Despite its classification as potentially hazardous, 2024 MK’s closest approach will still be about 4.6 million miles from Earth, far beyond any risk of impact. Each NEO is designated based on their proximity to Earth within 120 million miles, approximately 1.3 times the Earth-Sun distance.
Planetary Defense
In addressing potential impacts, Dr. Svetla Ben-Itzhak, speaking to Newsweek, underscored the destructive potential of larger cosmic bodies. “If a cosmic body of [2024 MK’s] size crashed into Earth, it could destroy an entire city and cause extreme regional devastation,” she explained, highlighting the global implications of larger asteroids.
