NASA, China Develop Plans to Deflect Asteroid YR4 by 2032

Asteroid 2024 YR4 is hurtling toward Earth at 38,000 mph, with a 0.28% chance of collision in 2032, raising significant alarm among scientists and governments. This 50-meter-wide asteroid has the potential to destroy entire cities, prompting coordinated global responses from space agencies, particularly NASA and China's State Administration of Science, Technology, and Industry. Both agencies are focusing on kinetic impactor technology, inspired by NASA's successful Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART), which demonstrated the feasibility of altering an asteroid's trajectory. China has initiated a planetary defense initiative, actively recruiting specialists to bolster its efforts in monitoring and potentially deflecting YR4. The European Space Agency has also stressed the need for prolonged collaboration in addressing such cosmic threats. This situation underscores humanity's increasing readiness and technological advancements in planetary defense.