NASA says it : An asteroid could soon hit the earth

What if the end of the world is scheduled in the next ten years ? This scenario, worthy of a disaster film, is nevertheless taken very seriously by NASA scientists who are closely monitoring the evolution of Apophis, a giant asteroid that will touch our planet in 2029.

Named after a deity of Egyptian mythology, known as the « God of evil and chaos« , Apophis is a very real and increasingly pressing threat as the deadline, perhaps fateful, approaches.

According to the American Space Agency, the asteroid should, in the best case scenario, pass just below the communication satellites.

But the risk of a collision with Earth is also not excluded. At issue: the impressive proportions of Apophis that make him a true celestial monster.

The asteroid is 340 metres wide and if, according to the latest projections, it should pass within 30,000 km of the Earth’s surface, the slightest variation in trajectory causing it to head towards the blue planet would mean, no more and no less, the death of humanity as a whole.

In this context, NASA’s first objective was therefore to collect all possible information on the asteroid, essential data that would allow us to imagine ways of diverting it, if necessary.

At this stage, several scenarios are being considered, ranging from the nuclear option to the sending of a specially dedicated spacecraft which, travelling alongside it, would lead Apophis, by gravitational effect, to take another course.

However, other researchers are more optimistic and estimate that a collision has only one chance in 100,000 to occur.