December 23, 2024

We Asked a NASA Scientist: Does NASA Know About All the Asteroids? [Video]

Does NASA know about ALL the asteroids? Does NASA understand about all the asteroids? The good news is we understand where most of the actually big asteroids are that get closest to the Earth, and weve discovered more than 90 percent of these huge asteroids.

Does NASA know about ALL the asteroids? NASA asteroid expert Dr. Amy Mainzer describes.

By NASA
October 24, 2021

Does NASA understand about all the asteroids? The excellent news is we understand where many of the actually huge asteroids are that get closest to the Earth, and weve found more than 90 percent of these big asteroids.
Its really challenging to discover asteroids and comets because although some of them are as huge as mountains, space is incredibly huge, and they can be really far away. We desire to discover them when theyre extremely far away from the Earth so that if essential, we have lots of time to take action if we ever find one thats actually headed in our direction.
Asteroids are a source of fascination as they are antiques from the birth of our solar system, and it is extremely not likely that a considerable asteroid effect will occur in our lifetimes. Regardless, our planetary defense experts monitor the skies to try to find near-Earth asteroids and comets and make sure that the Earth and an asteroid never get too close for comfort.
At NASA, we understand what we have to do to discover the remaining unknown asteroids. Were on the job and really thankful to be part of the continuous objective of planetary defense.