NASA has reportedly admitted we aren't ready for the return of Apophis in 2029, and this April 16, 2026 update investigates the "Horrifying Truth" that has scientists alarmed across the globe. While the viral headlines scream that "We Are Doomed," the March and April 2026 reports from the Space Mission Planning Advisory Group (SMPAG) tell a more complex story. Measuring 340 meters (the height of the Eiffel Tower), the asteroid 99942 Apophis will pass just 31,600 kilometers from Earth on Friday, April 13, 2029—closer than many of our geostationary satellites. Scientists are alarmed because while the impact risk for 2029 has been officially ruled out for 100 years, the April 2026 budget debates have put NASA's primary scouting mission, OSIRIS-APEX, at risk, potentially leaving us "blind" to how Earth's gravity will warp and destabilize the asteroid during its flyby.
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FunTranscript
00:00So, we just spotted an asteroid so massive, it could wipe out an entire continent if it ever hit Earth.
00:08And it's moving insanely fast, almost record speed.
00:12But what makes it really scary is how it's basically playing hide-and-seek with us.
00:18It can slip right into the sun's glare and vanish completely.
00:22And yeah, it just did it again. It disappeared.
00:25So, when we finally spot it again, will we have enough time to prepare?
00:31Or could it already be too late for humanity?
00:34Do I have your attention now? Ah, thanks.
00:38So, meet 2025 SC-79.
00:42That's a mouthful, so I'll just nickname it Scooby.
00:46This newly found asteroid is a sneaky one, the kind that loves hiding in the sun's glare.
00:52Think of it as trying to spot a firefly next to a stadium light.
00:56The brightness hits your eyes and outshines anything faint nearby.
01:00So, yeah, you won't see that firefly.
01:04Now, asteroids hide in the same frustrating way.
01:07When they end up close to the sun from our point of view on Earth,
01:11the glare overwhelms our telescopes.
01:13And the asteroid's dim, reflected light gets lost in it.
01:17That's why some asteroids can cruise along in the sun's direction and stay basically invisible to us.
01:24And scientists say the most dangerous asteroids,
01:27the ones that could wipe out a whole city, are the hardest to detect.
01:31That's why astronomers need to somehow dodge the sun's glare.
01:35One way they do it is by observing the sky during the short window of twilight.
01:40I mean, right before sunrise or just after sunset.
01:43And that timing is a big deal.
01:46Because it's the only way to catch some risky asteroid before it sneaks up on Earth.
01:51Scientists say that if one of these so-called twilight asteroids ever gets close to Earth,
01:57it could be a serious impact threat.
02:00And it was during one of these twilight observing sessions
02:03that scientists finally spotted this huge asteroid.
02:07It was September 27, 2025.
02:10Scott Shepard, an astronomer at a Washington-based institute,
02:14was scanning the sky, hunting for anything unusual in our solar system.
02:18And he had an incredible tool in his hands,
02:21the dark energy camera, ooh, or DECAM,
02:25one of the most powerful sky survey cameras on Earth,
02:28built to spot faint objects across huge areas of the universe.
02:34At one point, he spotted a faint dot moving across the image.
02:38So he quickly aimed the high-tech camera at it,
02:41and things got more interesting.
02:44Its movement matched what astronomers expect from asteroids
02:47that orbit very close to the sun.
02:50Then, follow-up observations with the Gemini and Magellan telescopes
02:54confirmed the discovery.
02:56Yes, this really was an asteroid.
02:59And there are two particularly curious things about it.
03:03First, it's fast.
03:05Like, really fast.
03:06In fact, it is the second-fastest-known asteroid orbit in the solar system.
03:11It loops around the sun once every 128 days.
03:15For comparison, Mercury, the closest planet to the sun,
03:19takes 88 days to go around once.
03:22Second, its orbit is super-rare.
03:25This is only the second-known object that stays completely inside Venus's orbit.
03:31That also puts it in one of the rarest asteroid groups out there,
03:35the Ateris.
03:36These are asteroids whose orbits sit entirely inside Earth's orbit.
03:41Astronomers have found only a few of them so far,
03:44and Scooby is the 39th one in the list.
03:47The team of scientists also figured out that this asteroid is pretty big,
03:52measuring about 2,300 feet across.
03:55That's roughly the size of Merdeka 118,
03:59the second-tallest building on Earth.
04:02If an asteroid this size ever slammed into Earth,
04:05it wouldn't just be bad.
04:07It would be catastrophic.
04:09We're talking about damage on a continental scale.
04:12It would blast a huge crater into the ground,
04:15then throw out a shockwave powerful enough to wipe out forests and wreck cities.
04:20Seismic waves would ripple through the crust,
04:23triggering widespread earthquakes around magnitude 7.4,
04:27and people could still feel them about 300 miles away from the strike.
04:31And that's not all.
04:33A brutal air pressure blast would race outward,
04:36shattering windows more than 1,000 miles away.
04:39Then comes the aftermath.
04:43Dust and debris from the impact could shoot up into the atmosphere,
04:47block some sunlight, and mess with our climate.
04:50I know, you might feel scared right now,
04:52but don't worry about it.
04:55Thankfully, Scooby isn't going to do anything like that,
04:58because it's not on a collision course with Earth.
05:01Right now, the math shows it won't be making any close passes by our planet,
05:06at least not anytime soon.
05:08Still, there's a lot more to learn about this asteroid.
05:11But any further studies will have to wait.
05:14For now, it has disappeared behind the Sun and is out of sight.
05:19Once it reappears, astronomers will take a closer look
05:22and try to learn more about what it's made of.
05:25That part really matters,
05:26because this asteroid is somehow holding up
05:29while orbiting so close to the Sun's brutal heat.
05:33You see, this asteroid gets very near to the Sun.
05:37At its closest point, this asteroid is blasted with almost six times Earth's sunlight.
05:42At that distance, its surface could heat up to about 440 degrees Fahrenheit.
05:48What scientists don't know yet is how a rock this big can get baked over and over again
05:54without falling apart.
05:56And there are two more things astronomers want to check once it comes back into view.
06:01How fast it spins and how bright it looks.
06:05Now, by bright, I mean how much sunlight it reflects.
06:08Because asteroids don't make their own sunlight.
06:11They're just big rocky chunks that shine by reflecting sunlight back at us.
06:17Anyway, those clues can tell scientists what Scooby is made of.
06:21One possibility is that this asteroid is loaded with dense metal.
06:25And that could explain how it survives the Sun's brutal heat.
06:29And if that turns out to be true,
06:31this asteroid could be a relic from when the Solar System was just forming.
06:36Or maybe it slowly moved closer to the Sun
06:39because the gravity of Venus and Mercury
06:42gently pulled on it again and again over millions of years.
06:47Now, even though SC-79 isn't a real danger to us,
06:51and there's still a lot we don't know about it,
06:53just finding it is already a big deal.
06:56It's a reminder that big asteroids can hide from us.
07:00So even in our own cosmic backyard,
07:02there are still blind spots where large objects can stay hidden
07:06until the right moment of twilight gives them away.
07:10And as our detection tech gets better,
07:13we keep finding more and more asteroids.
07:15By now, scientists have spotted over a million in the Solar System.
07:19They come in all sizes,
07:21from monsters like Vesta that measure about 329 miles wide,
07:26all the way down to rocks that are smaller than a house.
07:31Now, out of all the asteroids we know,
07:33about 40,000 are what we call near-Earth asteroids, or NIAs.
07:38That just means their orbits bring them close to our neighborhood.
07:42Technically, their closest point to the Sun
07:44is less than 1.3 times the Earth-Sun distance.
07:48It's close enough for planetary defense systems
07:50to keep a careful eye on them.
07:53And that's exactly why we can relax.
07:56I mean, nobody has to lose sleep
07:59imagining an asteroid slamming into our planet.
08:02Every time scientists discover a new asteroid
08:05that comes anywhere near Earth,
08:07they track it and run the numbers right away.
08:09And then they map out its path years,
08:12decades, or even centuries into the future.
08:15And they don't do it by guesswork.
08:17NASA's automated systems, like Sentry,
08:20constantly scan the asteroid catalog
08:23and calculate whether any of these objects
08:25has even a small chance of hitting Earth
08:28over the next 100 years.
08:30If something looks risky,
08:32it jumps to the top of the watch list
08:34and gets followed up fast.
08:36So yeah, there are almost 2,000 near-Earth asteroids
08:40that technically have some chance
08:43of hitting us in the next 100 years.
08:45But don't panic.
08:46Most are small and harmless.
08:49Hey, like me.
08:50And their odds of impact are usually way under 1%.
08:54See why I said we shouldn't stress too much?
08:57Cool.
08:58Now, sleep tight!
09:03Asteroids are a serious, very real danger.
09:05Some of them are big enough to cause a lot of trouble
09:08if they collide with Earth.
09:10One asteroid in particular is making headlines these days.
09:13A new study has revealed there's a small chance
09:16it could hit our planet during its close flyby in 2029.
09:20But the question is unusual.
09:22Will the asteroid survive this encounter?
09:26Apophis, which got its name from Apep,
09:28the Egyptian deity of chaos and disorder,
09:31has become one of the most infamous asteroids.
09:35Discovered in 2004,
09:37this space object is about 1,100 feet wide.
09:40It's about the height of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
09:42Because of its size and the close flyby predicted for 2029,
09:47astronomers classify Apophis as a potentially hazardous object.
09:52Those are asteroids and other space objects
09:54that pass close to Earth
09:55and are big enough that we really need to pay attention to them.
09:59Right now, scientists say the chances of a collision are slim,
10:03less than one in a billion.
10:05So, at the moment,
10:06we can probably claim that Earth is out of danger.
10:09But the same can't be said about the asteroid itself.
10:12When Apophis passes close to Earth in 2029,
10:16our planet's gravity is likely to shake it so violently
10:19that it may experience something like an earthquake.
10:22A cosmic asteroid quake, if you will.
10:25The stress from this gravitational force
10:27will probably cause parts of the asteroid's surface
10:30to crack off and fly into space.
10:32And even though this might not be a full-blown disaster,
10:35and the asteroid won't fall apart completely,
10:38it's very likely to lose some material during the flyby.
10:42Some of this debris might just stick around in orbit,
10:45while other bits could fly off into deep space.
10:48Over time, this catastrophe could affect Apophis' rotation,
10:52causing it to spin differently or tilt in a way it hasn't before.
10:55And this is a phenomenon scientists are really interested in,
10:59because it could teach us a lot about how asteroids react
11:02when powerful gravity is pulling on them.
11:05Now, let's get back to Earth.
11:07But we haven't left.
11:08Anyway, even though the asteroid isn't big enough
11:11to wipe out the planet,
11:12like the asteroid that destroyed the dinosaurs,
11:14it's large enough to cause serious damage to a large city
11:18if it ever collided with Earth.
11:20It could mess with the climate all over the planet, too.
11:23At the moment, it looks like the space rock will sail past Earth
11:26at a distance of around 20,000 miles.
11:29It's still worryingly close, but far enough to avoid a collision.
11:34To put it in perspective,
11:35that's less than a tenth of the distance between Earth and the Moon.
11:39So while Apophis likely won't hit us,
11:42this flyby could still cause problems
11:44for some of the satellites orbiting Earth.
11:46They will be much closer to Apophis than we are.
11:49The key point is that we can't rule out a risk of a collision
11:53in a few more years.
11:54As Apophis gets closer,
11:56astronomers will keep a very close eye on its trajectory
11:59to make sure it doesn't veer off course
12:01due to the influence of Earth's gravity.
12:04In fact, this gravitational pull could actually cause
12:07some serious changes to the asteroid itself.
12:10Now, even though Apophis is not likely to cause a global disaster
12:14if it were to hit Earth,
12:15the consequences would still be pretty severe.
12:18The impact could destroy an entire city.
12:21And the resulting climate changes
12:22could mess with food production for years.
12:25It wouldn't be an extinction-level event,
12:27but it would still be a huge deal.
12:30Now, Apophis is not the only asteroid we need to worry about.
12:34Scientists are constantly on the lookout for other asteroids
12:37that could potentially cause harm to our planet.
12:40Thanks to new technology,
12:42astronomers can now track dangerous space rocks
12:44from way farther out in space.
12:46One cool new method they're using involves studying meteor showers.
12:51These showers are actually caused by long-period comets
12:54that have been orbiting the Sun for hundreds or even thousands of years.
12:58As these comets pass by,
13:00they leave a trail of dust and debris,
13:02which can end up creating meteor showers
13:05when Earth passes through them.
13:07Scientists analyze the properties of meteor showers,
13:10like their speed, direction, and where they come from.
13:13This can help them trace the particles
13:15back to their parent comet or asteroid.
13:17It's actually a big deal,
13:18because it means we might be able to spot
13:21potentially hazardous asteroids
13:23long before they get close to Earth.
13:25The upcoming Legacy Survey of Space and Time project,
13:29which is being run out of the Vera Rubin Observatory in Chile,
13:32is going to help astronomers track these space rocks
13:35from even farther away.
13:37Astronomers are going to create a detailed map of the sky
13:40and the regions where meteor showers are most likely to occur.
13:43It'll help them predict which asteroids
13:45might become a problem for Earth in the future,
13:48giving us plenty of time to prepare or come up with a plan.
13:52But even now, there are many space rocks
13:55that can potentially cause a lot of trouble to our planet.
13:58Let's look at some of them.
14:00Here's the asteroid Bennu.
14:02Astronomers discovered it in 1999.
14:05This carbon-rich rock is about 1,600 feet across.
14:08It's the height of the Shanghai World Financial Center.
14:11Didn't you know that?
14:12At the moment, this asteroid is the greatest threat to Earth
14:15that we're aware of.
14:16But don't panic yet.
14:18The collision won't happen for a long time.
14:21In fact, scientists calculate a 0.037% chance,
14:26which is about 1 in 2,700,
14:28of Bennu striking Earth on September 24, 2182.
14:33I won't be around then.
14:35If Bennu does hit our planet,
14:37the impact would release so much energy
14:39that it would be enough to cause massive destruction
14:42in a large region.
14:43But luckily, it wouldn't wipe out the entire planet.
14:47Still, if Bennu hit a city,
14:49the consequences could be catastrophic.
14:51NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft
14:53has recently visited Bennu
14:55and returned with samples,
14:57so scientists are learning more about this asteroid all the time.
15:01The next asteroid is another one to keep an eye on.
15:05It was first discovered in 1950,
15:07but wasn't seen again until 2000.
15:10Right now, scientists say there's a very slim chance,
15:131 in 34,500,
15:15that it could hit Earth on March 16, 2880,
15:20800 years into the future.
15:22So am I worried?
15:23Nah.
15:23If it did strike,
15:25it would release so much energy,
15:27it could lead to a global catastrophe,
15:29potentially wiping out humanity.
15:31Or not.
15:32Our next asteroid has been discovered only recently.
15:36It was spotted in October 2023.
15:39It has a very low chance of striking Earth
15:41on October 10, 219.
15:44Man, they got it down to the day?
15:46Now, if it were to collide with our planet,
15:48the impact would release a lot of energy,
15:51which would have a devastating effect for large areas.
15:54So, while the arrival of this asteroid is a long shot,
15:57this asteroid is still worth keeping an eye on.
16:01Now, this asteroid is known as a lost asteroid
16:03because it hasn't been seen since 2007.
16:07No wonder.
16:07It has a very uncertain orbit,
16:10and we can't predict its movements.
16:12NASA says there's a tiny chance,
16:14about 1 in 10 million,
16:15that it could strike Earth on March 3, 2030.
16:19If it did,
16:20the energy released would be able to cause
16:22huge regional damage.
16:24Finally, we've got this space wanderer.
16:27On the one hand,
16:28it hasn't been seen since 1979.
16:31On the other,
16:32scientists believe that there's a very low chance
16:35that it could hit Earth on December 14, 2113.
16:38Mark your calendars.
16:40If it did,
16:41the impact would cause a lot of damage and devastation,
16:43but it would not lead to the end of humanity.
16:46Now, in any case,
16:48even though the chances of an asteroid hitting Earth are low,
16:51the consequences of such an event could be huge.
16:54That's why scientists are so focused on studying these space rocks
16:57and tracking their movements.
16:59Thanks to new technologies,
17:01we can track dangerous objects from farther away
17:04and catch them earlier.
17:05It can give us more time to react
17:07and come up with some effective solutions.
17:09A huge asteroid several hundred feet across
17:13is dashing towards Earth
17:14through the black nothingness of the cosmos.
17:17Ooh.
17:18Brace for the terrible news.
17:20There's a 72% chance
17:21it might hit Earth in 14 years,
17:24with potential impact zones being North America,
17:27Southern Europe,
17:28and North Africa,
17:29some of the most densely populated areas on the planet.
17:32Astronomers have been keeping a close eye
17:34on the space invader for a few months,
17:36but now it's moved too close to the sun,
17:39and tracking it is impossible for the next seven months.
17:42Of course, there's a 28% chance
17:44that it will miss our planet altogether.
17:47But what if it doesn't?
17:48Global devastation and destruction, that's what.
17:51Thousands of lives lost,
17:53billions and billions of dollars in damage,
17:56entire species wiped off the face of the Earth,
17:59ruined cities and towns,
18:00destroyed fields and forests.
18:02We're left wondering
18:03whether it's the future awaiting for us.
18:05Well, now you can breathe easy.
18:08That's just a hypothetical scenario
18:10created by NASA
18:11to prepare for a situation like this.
18:14The space agency has been thinking
18:15about this kind of disaster for years.
18:18Even cooler,
18:19they run what-if asteroid exercises every two years
18:22to get scientists, state agencies,
18:24and international experts on the same page.
18:27The last one occurred in April.
18:29Over 100 people took part in that event.
18:32During such asteroid drills,
18:34experts pretend that a giant space rock
18:36is heading our way.
18:38Then they work through all the tricky questions
18:40they can come up with,
18:41like how big is it?
18:42Where might it hit?
18:44What should we do?
18:45It's like a massive brainstorming session
18:47to make sure that if it ever happens,
18:49we won't have to start from scratch.
18:52To make these scenarios feel as real as possible,
18:56NASA's Center for Near-Earth Object Studies
18:58gets involved.
18:59These are folks who track real asteroids
19:01and calculate their orbits.
19:03So, they simulate months of asteroid observations,
19:06complete with uncertainties about its size,
19:09trajectory, and potential impact zones.
19:11It's the kind of uncertainty
19:13that makes decision-making way harder,
19:15just like it would be in real life.
19:18Now, if an astronaut really was aiming at Earth,
19:21it wouldn't be just one country's problem.
19:23It would be everyone's.
19:25That's why this exercise brings in international experts.
19:28In April, it happened for the first time.
19:31They worked alongside U.S. agencies
19:33like NASA's Planetary Defense Coordination Office
19:36and FEMA to understand how the world might respond
19:40to such a crisis since an asteroid impact
19:42would have dire consequences globally.
19:45Now, the big question is,
19:47can we actually stop an asteroid from hitting Earth?
19:49Here, there are two main options experts consider.
19:53First, we could send a spacecraft to gather more info.
19:55If we knew more about the asteroid's size, mass, and orbit,
19:59we'd be able to make better decisions
20:01about what to do next.
20:02The second option is to try to deflect it.
20:05Basically, it means bumping the asteroid off its course
20:08so that it misses Earth.
20:10This might sound impossible,
20:12but NASA's DART mission has already proven
20:14that we can do it.
20:15Two years ago, they crashed a spacecraft
20:18into a small asteroid called Dimorphos
20:20and successfully changed its orbit.
20:22It was a huge victory for planetary defense.
20:26But missions like that take tons of time
20:28to plan, prepare, and carry out.
20:31That's why spotting dangerous asteroids
20:32as early as possible is so important.
20:35Currently, NASA is working on a new telescope
20:38called NEO Surveyor,
20:39which is set to launch in 2027.
20:42Unlike good old telescopes,
20:44NEO Surveyor is designed to detect
20:46even the trickiest asteroids,
20:48including ones orbiting close to the sun.
20:50It'll give us a better chance to act early
20:53and potentially stop an asteroid
20:55before it becomes a threat.
20:57If you still think that an asteroid impact
20:59is something out of science fiction
21:01and the threat isn't real,
21:03how about this?
21:04Early on Sunday, January 21st,
21:07a small asteroid about 3 feet wide
21:09entered Earth's atmosphere
21:10and luckily burned up over Germany.
21:13NASA's scout impact system
21:15spotted it 95 minutes before it hit
21:17and predicted exactly when and where
21:19it would arrive.
21:21At 1.32 a.m. local time,
21:23the asteroid turned into a blazing bright fireball,
21:27visible as far away as the Czech Republic.
21:29Some small meteorites might have landed
21:31near the impact site,
21:33about 37 miles west of Berlin.
21:35This is just the eighth time ever
21:37that an asteroid has been detected
21:39before it hit Earth.
21:40It's a splendid example
21:42of how tools like Scout
21:43are helping us track asteroids
21:45and prepare for anything bigger
21:47that might come our way.
21:49Here's another example.
21:50A small asteroid turned the skies
21:52over northeastern Siberia
21:54into a breathtaking light show
21:56on December the 4th,
21:57burning up harmlessly
21:58in Earth's atmosphere.
22:00The space rock,
22:01about 28 inches across,
22:03was spotted just hours before it hit.
22:06Thanks to observations
22:07from astronomers around the world,
22:09a special alert system
22:10managed to predict the impact
22:12to plus or minus 10 seconds.
22:14The asteroid entered Earth's atmosphere
22:16at 1.15 a.m. local time.
22:19The authorities were put on alert,
22:21but there was no damage reports.
22:23NASA's Asteroid Terrestrial Impact
22:25Last Alert System, or ATLAS,
22:27spotted the rock 12 hours
22:29before it entered the atmosphere.
22:31This makes it the fourth imminent impactor,
22:33which is an asteroid discovered
22:35within hours of its expected impact,
22:37detected this year,
22:38and the 11th overall.
22:41Now, China also has big plans
22:43for planetary defense.
22:44They're working on their first mission
22:46to hit an asteroid,
22:47and it's got a double purpose.
22:49One spacecraft will crash into the asteroid,
22:51and the other will hang back
22:53to study the whole thing
22:54for up to a year.
22:55In other words,
22:56it's not just about protecting Earth.
22:58It's also a way to learn more
22:59about the solar system.
23:00The target is an asteroid called
23:032015 XF-261,
23:06which is a mouthful,
23:08and also about 100 feet wide.
23:10It flew by Earth recently,
23:12on July 9th,
23:13passing us at 31 million miles.
23:15True, it's pretty far away,
23:17but the space traveler was zooming by
23:19at a speed of 26,000 miles per hour,
23:2230 times faster than the speed of sound.
23:25China is going to send a space probe
23:27to study the asteroid.
23:28They're hoping to learn more
23:30about its structure and composition,
23:32which could help us
23:33with future planetary defense missions.
23:35Then they plan to hit the asteroid
23:37with another spacecraft
23:38to test the impact,
23:40and the first space probe will stay there
23:42to observe the remains for up to a year.
23:45Timing is critical for this mission,
23:46and the asteroid offers some good opportunities
23:49in the next few years.
23:50Thus, in March and May of 2027,
23:53the asteroid will pass
23:55within 20 million miles of Earth.
23:56In April 2028,
23:59it'll get even closer.
24:00By that, I mean 13 million miles away.
24:03A year later, in April 2029,
24:05the asteroid will end up
24:07just 4.2 million miles away,
24:09making it the best shot for a mission.
24:12Another decent chance will be April 2030.
24:14That's when the asteroid will pass our planet
24:17at 4.4 million miles.
24:19To give you some context,
24:21NASA's DART mission
24:22once targeted an asteroid
24:247 million miles away,
24:25and the trip took 10 months.
24:27So China's planners
24:28have to pick the right moment,
24:30depending on how long
24:31their spacecraft will need to get there.
24:33The mission is expected
24:35to start around 2027.
24:37At the same time,
24:38this won't be China's first attempt
24:40to target an asteroid.
24:41Back in 2023,
24:43they were planning
24:43a planetary defense test
24:45with a different asteroid,
24:46which is also about 100 feet wide.
24:49It's not clear why
24:50they switched to the current one,
24:51probably because the timing works better.
24:54Most asteroids are basically
24:56time capsules
24:56from 4.6 billion years ago,
24:59leftovers from when
25:00the solar system was just forming.
25:02Studying them could tell us a lot
25:04about how planets,
25:05including Earth,
25:06came to be.
25:07So China's taking on something
25:09that combines planetary defense
25:11and pure space science.
25:13They're definitely making big moves
25:15in the space exploration game.
25:19Imagine an asteroid
25:20so full of valuable metals
25:22that it could make
25:23every person on Earth
25:24a billionaire.
25:26Well, that's not science fiction.
25:28It's 1-6 Psyche,
25:30a massive metallic space rock
25:32orbiting the sun
25:33between Mars and Jupiter.
25:35It isn't just extraordinary
25:37because of its value,
25:38estimated at 10 quintillion dollars.
25:41That's a figure that dwarfs
25:42the global economy
25:43many times over.
25:44It also has clues
25:47about the formation of planets,
25:49especially the rocky worlds
25:50like Earth.
25:53In October 2023,
25:55NASA launched the Psyche spacecraft.
25:57This mission is to explore
25:59the cosmic treasure trove.
26:01It's supposed to arrive
26:02at the asteroid in August 2029,
26:04and astronomers hope
26:05that it will give us some insights,
26:07not just about the asteroid's
26:09glittering wealth,
26:10but also about how planets form
26:12and evolve in our solar system.
26:15But what exactly makes Psyche unique?
26:19First discovered in 1852
26:21by an Italian astronomer,
26:23it was the 16th asteroid
26:24people identified,
26:26hence its name.
26:27It stands out among the millions
26:29of space rocks in the asteroid belt
26:31for one main reason,
26:32its metallic composition.
26:35While most asteroids
26:37are rocky or icy,
26:39Psyche seems to be made
26:40primarily of iron,
26:41nickel,
26:41and possibly even gold
26:43and other rare metals.
26:45At about 173 miles wide,
26:48it isn't the largest asteroid.
26:50It's easily dwarfed
26:51by others like Ceres,
26:53but its size is still impressive.
26:55After all,
26:56its surface area
26:57is 64,000 square miles,
26:59like that of the state of Florida.
27:01Astronomers think
27:02that between 30 and 60%
27:04of the asteroid's surface
27:05might consist of precious metals.
27:08They also think
27:10that this space rock
27:11might be the exposed core
27:13of a planetesimal.
27:15A planetesimal
27:16is basically a protoplanet,
27:18a large space body
27:19in orbit around a star
27:21developing into a planet.
27:23And this planetesimal
27:25could have grown
27:25into a full-fledged planet
27:27if it hadn't been destroyed
27:29in some catastrophic collision
27:31billions of years ago.
27:32If this theory is correct,
27:35Psyche can give us
27:35a unique glimpse
27:36into what lies deep
27:38within terrestrial planets
27:39like Earth,
27:40where planetary cores
27:41are hidden thousands of miles
27:43beneath thick crusts
27:44and mantles.
27:46Now,
27:47remember that spacecraft
27:48that went to explore
27:49the asteroid?
27:50After embarking
27:51on its ambitious mission,
27:52the Psyche probe
27:53will travel a mind-boggling
27:552.2 billion miles
27:57to reach its goal.
27:58This journey
27:59will take nearly six years.
28:02On its way to the asteroid,
28:03the spacecraft
28:04will pass by Mars
28:05in May 2026
28:07and use the red planet's gravity
28:09to slingshot itself
28:10deeper into space.
28:12This maneuver
28:13is called a gravity assist
28:14and it will boost
28:15the velocity of the probe
28:17and refine its trajectory
28:18toward the asteroid.
28:20By the time
28:21it reaches its goal
28:22in August 2029,
28:23the spacecraft
28:24will be set to orbit
28:25the asteroid
28:26for at least 26 months.
28:28during this time
28:29it will analyze its surface,
28:31figure out its composition
28:33and attempt to unravel
28:34its history.
28:37The probe is equipped
28:38with some pretty cool tools.
28:40One of them
28:40is called
28:41a multi-spectral imager.
28:43This instrument
28:44will snap
28:45high-resolution images
28:46of the asteroid's surface.
28:48It's supposed to help
28:49astronomers
28:50to study its texture
28:51and composition.
28:52Then,
28:53the probe
28:54has a gamma ray
28:55and neutron spectrometer.
28:57This instrument
28:58will measure
28:59the asteroid's
29:00chemical elements,
29:01including its metal content.
29:03A magnetometer
29:05will detect
29:06a magnetic field,
29:07if any,
29:08which could confirm
29:09Psyche's origin
29:10as a planetary core.
29:12And finally,
29:14an X-band radio system
29:15will help determine
29:16the asteroid's
29:17gravity field,
29:18which can offer insights
29:20into the asteroid's
29:21internal structure.
29:23NASA isn't sending
29:25the spacecraft
29:25to assess the value
29:26of the space rock
29:27as a mining target.
29:28Well, at least not yet.
29:30The main goal
29:31of the mission
29:32is science.
29:33Researchers hope
29:34to answer fundamental questions
29:36about how planets
29:37form and evolve.
29:39And this asteroid
29:40could help us understand
29:41what happens
29:42when molten material
29:43solidifies into a core.
29:45Another question
29:46we need to answer to is
29:48why did it fail
29:49to become a planet?
29:50And understanding
29:52the history of the asteroid
29:53might shed light
29:54on why some celestial bodies
29:56grow into planets
29:57while others don't.
30:00While NASA's mission
30:01is purely exploratory,
30:03it has also sparked interest
30:05from the point of view
30:06of asteroid mining.
30:08With its estimated worth
30:09of $10 quintrillion,
30:11Psyche could theoretically
30:13supply enough raw materials
30:15to revolutionize industries
30:16on Earth.
30:18Mining it is likely
30:19to be decades away
30:20if it ever happens
30:21altogether.
30:22But the idea
30:23still sounds amazing.
30:24At the same time,
30:26if the asteroid's metals
30:27were somehow brought
30:28to Earth,
30:29their abundance
30:30could cause the value
30:31of precious metals
30:32like gold
30:32to plummet.
30:33And it would wreak havoc
30:35on global markets.
30:37Speaking of valuable resources,
30:39let's find out
30:40how Earth got its own gold,
30:42platinum,
30:43and other rare metals.
30:44These elements,
30:46aka highly siderophile elements,
30:48have a cosmic origin story.
30:50And it's every bit
30:52as dramatic as Psyche's.
30:54These precious metals
30:55were born in violent
30:57cosmic events
30:58billions of years ago.
31:00Many appeared in kilonovae,
31:02explosive collisions
31:03between neutron stars.
31:05These metals were then
31:06scattered across space
31:07and eventually became
31:08part of the gas and dust cloud
31:10that formed our solar system.
31:13When Earth formed,
31:14those metals sank
31:15towards its iron-rich core.
31:17But not all of them
31:18ended up deep
31:19inside the planet.
31:20Destructive collisions
31:21with rogue protoplanets
31:23like the Mars-sized Theia,
31:25which most likely
31:26helped to form the Moon,
31:27trapped some elements
31:28in Earth's mantle.
31:30Recent computer models
31:31have explained
31:32how this happened.
31:33After each major collision,
31:35Earth's surface
31:36temporarily became
31:37a magma ocean,
31:39a molten layer of rock.
31:42As metals sank
31:43through the magma,
31:44they reached a partially
31:45solid layer
31:46that slowed their descent,
31:47keeping them in the mantle
31:48instead of the core.
31:50These metals then
31:51moved closer to the surface
31:52under the influence
31:53of thermal convection.
31:55That's what made them
31:56accessible for mining
31:57billions of years later.
32:00While Psyche's metals
32:02are all over the news,
32:03space has more to offer
32:04than just gold and iron.
32:07Scientists have discovered,
32:08or rather theorized,
32:10the existence of
32:10different gemstones
32:12scattered across the cosmos,
32:14like diamonds.
32:15The thing is,
32:17diamonds are made
32:18of pure carbon,
32:19and this element
32:20is abundant
32:20in the universe.
32:22On Earth,
32:23diamonds form deep
32:24in the mantle
32:24under high pressure
32:25and temperature.
32:26In space,
32:27conditions for diamond formation
32:29can occur
32:29in surprising places.
32:31For example,
32:33nanodiamonds,
32:34which are really
32:34tiny diamonds,
32:35have been found
32:36in meteorites.
32:38Sometimes,
32:38they contain gases
32:39that give us clues
32:40about the early solar system.
32:43Scientists believe
32:44that it might rain diamonds
32:45on our ice giants
32:47Neptune and Uranus.
32:48There,
32:49high pressures
32:50compress carbon
32:51into crystalline form.
32:53Researchers have also
32:54predicted that exoplanets
32:55in other solar systems
32:56could have gemstones
32:58like rubies
32:58and sapphires,
33:00depending on their size
33:01and proximity
33:01to their stars.
33:03Even Earth's moon
33:04had its own share
33:06of cosmic minerals.
33:07Scientists have found
33:08some traces
33:09of cubic zirconia
33:10in lunar rocks.
33:12So space might hold
33:13even more treasures
33:14than we've imagined.
33:16But let's get back
33:17to the Psyche mission.
33:19It might not only reveal
33:21the whole potential
33:22of space resources,
33:24but also underline
33:25the issues we could face
33:27while dealing with them.
33:28For example,
33:30mining an asteroid
33:31would require the usage
33:32of autonomous robots,
33:33machines capable of operating
33:35in harsh space environments.
33:37Plus,
33:38we would need
33:38efficient transport systems
33:40to bring materials
33:41back to Earth
33:42or process them in orbit.
33:45We would need to make sure
33:46that mining activities
33:48wouldn't damage ecosystems
33:49or space environments.
33:51There are also legal
33:53and ethical issues,
33:54like the Outer Space Treaty
33:55of 1967.
33:57It prohibits any nation
33:59from claiming sovereignty
34:00over celestial bodies.
34:02But with private companies
34:04entering the space race,
34:05debates over ownership
34:06and resource sharing
34:07are heating up.
34:10And finally,
34:11bringing such amounts
34:12of metals to Earth
34:13could destabilize
34:14global markets.
34:15So,
34:16experts suggest
34:17that space resources
34:18might be better used
34:20in space
34:21for building habitats,
34:23satellites,
34:24and spacecraft.
34:26But no matter
34:27whether we ever
34:28mine 16 Psyche or not,
34:31its exploration
34:31will teach us more
34:32about the early solar system
34:34and the processes
34:35that shaped our planet.
34:37As of December 1, 2024,
34:40the probe is heading
34:41for the asteroid
34:42following the orbit
34:43around the sun.
34:45Its journey promises
34:46not only to deepen
34:47our knowledge of the universe,
34:49but also to redefine
34:51what's possible for humanity
34:52as we reach for the stars.
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