Book 8, Question 124
Why Map Near-Earth Asteroids?
We map near-Earth asteroids so we can know their paths early and predict close approaches! Knowing where they travel lets us practice ideas for nudging an asteroid away, if that is ever needed. Mapping is planetary self-care.
More fun facts
- Asteroid search teams supported by NASA have found over 95 percent of the near-Earth asteroids we know about.
- NASA's Center for Near Earth Object Studies at JPL keeps track of where many asteroids are and where they are going.
- Small asteroids often hit Earth's air and break apart, and they do it at random spots all around the globe.
- At one count, out of more than 730,000 known asteroids, about 16,000 were near-Earth objects.
- NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft mapped an asteroid and collected a sample to bring back to Earth.
Questions kids ask
Are small asteroids hitting Earth dangerous?
Small asteroids often break apart in Earth's air, at random places around the globe.