The asteroid 2024 YR4 will not collide with Earth on December 22, 2032. The risk of impact has been completely ruled out, but this rock continues to be monitored by astronomers with great interest. The reason is that there is still a possibility of it colliding with the Moon on that day, as explained by Juan Luis Cano, coordinator of the information service of the Planetary Defense Office of the European Space Agency (ESA).
During a phone interview, he reflects on what was learned after the detection of this asteroid on December 27, which at one point had over a 3% chance of colliding with Earth, and the rapid study of its trajectory thanks to the coordination of telescopes worldwide. "It has clearly been the most important case in the last 20 years, since the discovery of the asteroid Apophis in 2004," notes this aeronautical engineer.
It was also the first time that the United Nations' planetary defense protocols, established in 2018, were activated -four years earlier, the two response groups were created, the International Asteroid Warning Network (IAWN in English) and the Space Mission Planning Advisory Group (SMPAG).