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Asteroid Won't Slam Into Mars After All

Disappointed scientists were hoping to study collision

By Colleen Barry,  Newser Staff

Posted Jan 11, 2008 4:24 AM CST
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(Newser) – An asteroid heading toward Mars won't crash into it after all, according to disappointed scientists. They had initially calculated there was a 1-in-27 chance of the space rock hitting the red planet, but after new observations researchers estimate the odds are only 1 in 10,000, "effectively ruling out the possible collision," according to the latest report.

Researchers had been hoping for a collision so that satellites already orbiting Mars could collect data on the impact. Asteroid 2007 WD5 has been under observation by NASA's Near Earth Object division because its orbit takes it close enough to Earth to pose a threat of collision—although scientists now say there is "no possibility" of that in the next 100 years.

This undated image provided by NASA Jan. 23, 2006 shows a false-color image taken by NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity's camera showing the dune crests in the Endurance Crater. Scientists have updated the chances of a newly-discovered asteroid slamming into the Red Planet, saying the space rock now has virtually...
This undated image provided by NASA Jan. 23, 2006 shows a false-color image taken by NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity's camera showing the dune crests in the Endurance Crater. Scientists have...   (Associated Press)
This image provided by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope shows a close-up of the red planet Mars when it was closest to the Hubble Space Telescope - just 55 million miles (88 million kilometers) away taken with Hubble's Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2. Scientists have now essentially ruled out the...
This image provided by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope shows a close-up of the red planet Mars when it was closest to the Hubble Space Telescope - just 55 million miles (88 million kilometers) away taken...   (Associated Press)
An artist rendition released by the European Space Agency on Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2007 shows the main bodies of the solar system, the Sun, Mercury, Venus, the Earth, from left in foreground, Uranus, Neptune, Saturn, Jupiter and Mars, from left in background. The Moon, the Earth's natural satellite, is seen...
An artist rendition released by the European Space Agency on Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2007 shows the main bodies of the solar system, the Sun, Mercury, Venus, the Earth, from left in foreground, Uranus, Neptune,...   (Associated Press)
NASA's Hubble Space Telescope took this picture of Mars in 2003. The possibility of a collision between Mars and an approaching asteroid has been effectively ruled out, according to scientists watching the space rock as it nears the Red Planet. (AP Photo/NASA, FILE)
NASA's Hubble Space Telescope took this picture of Mars in 2003. The possibility of a collision between Mars and an approaching asteroid has been effectively ruled out, according to scientists watching...   (Associated Press)
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Scientists were eagerly anticipating impact
Space.com

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Track the story from its beginning
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Interactive diagram of asteroid's orbit
NASA

NASA's Near Earth Object division homepage
NASA

 
NASA • Mars • space • asteroid • near earth objects

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