Asteroid could hit moon in 2032. Paper suggests nuclear option to prevent collision

A n asteroid that scientist initially feared might pose a risk to Earth may could instead strike the moon in 2032, according to the European Space Agency, but some scientists are suggesting it could be deflected with kinetic or nuclear explosions.

Asteroid 2024 YR4, which was discovered in 2024, initially was thought to be on a path that could lead to a collision with Earth. NASA later said updated computations showed the chance of an Earth strike was nearly zero.

There is about a 4% chance the asteroid could collide with the moon on Dec. 22, 2032, according to NASA and the European Space Agency.

In a recently released astrophysics paper at Cornell University that's not yet peer-reviewed, scientists put forward an option to eliminate the risk entirely — deflecting it with nucle