CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — A mysterious object temporarily orbiting Earth is a 54-year-old rocket, not an asteroid after all, astronomers confirmed Wednesday. But one NASA scientist said it could see humans landing on the least traveled stretch of our planet.
"That's part of the beautiful plan, NASA's worry: that one day a human could walk on the dark side of the moon, help us understand this moon and maybe even save our species from the asteroids," paleontologist Ed Linville, chief scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), told The Associated Press by telephone.
NASA geologist Tom Wysmuller noted that scientific tools used to map what lies beyond the moon to determine there there are no moons and thus a frightening enemy threat from asteroids outweighs the need for us to be careful about the roughly 325,000-foot-tall (100,000 meters) object.
"I don't see human life at very close range," Wysmuller said, adding that earlier, NASA scientists almost photographed the object and estimated it weighed about 19 tons. Some scientists estimated the object might be made of nickel and copper.
"The good news is it's not a threat," Wysmuller said. "The bad news is we still don't know what's down there."
The asteroid, discovered Oct. 1, came to Earth possibly from a passing Jupiter-family solar system body.
"We figured it was no threat to us," Linville said.
NASA engineers studied the object, discovered Oct. 1, and identified it Oct. 5 as part of a regular training run that is performed every 10 years, the agency announced.
"It makes a lot of sense for these asteroids to be in between Earth and Mars," said Joseph Stonebridge, a scientist at the Center for Space Range Analysis at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. The volume of the moon's gravity pulls on the thousands of asteroids that orbit between our sun and Mars.
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The owner of the Irish Beer & Ale I designed for the 2008 Olympics has spoken out about his use of booze to boost his staff's strength.
0:32 Video: Irish dad uses Guinness to get past exam nerves +100: Beer drinking and Olympic psychological benefits
Irishman Craig Rooney can clearly be seen glugging Guinness whilst training younger staff at next level company Ballycotton Sports & Exercise in Co Mayo.
More than any other Olympic sponsor, Irish
"That's part of the beautiful plan, NASA's worry: that one day a human could walk on the dark side of the moon, help us understand this moon and maybe even save our species from the asteroids," paleontologist Ed Linville, chief scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), told The Associated Press by telephone.
NASA geologist Tom Wysmuller noted that scientific tools used to map what lies beyond the moon to determine there there are no moons and thus a frightening enemy threat from asteroids outweighs the need for us to be careful about the roughly 325,000-foot-tall (100,000 meters) object.
"I don't see human life at very close range," Wysmuller said, adding that earlier, NASA scientists almost photographed the object and estimated it weighed about 19 tons. Some scientists estimated the object might be made of nickel and copper.
"The good news is it's not a threat," Wysmuller said. "The bad news is we still don't know what's down there."
The asteroid, discovered Oct. 1, came to Earth possibly from a passing Jupiter-family solar system body.
"We figured it was no threat to us," Linville said.
NASA engineers studied the object, discovered Oct. 1, and identified it Oct. 5 as part of a regular training run that is performed every 10 years, the agency announced.
"It makes a lot of sense for these asteroids to be in between Earth and Mars," said Joseph Stonebridge, a scientist at the Center for Space Range Analysis at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. The volume of the moon's gravity pulls on the thousands of asteroids that orbit between our sun and Mars.
Get daily updates directly to your inbox Subscribe Thank you for subscribing See our privacy notice Could not subscribe, try again later Invalid Email
The owner of the Irish Beer & Ale I designed for the 2008 Olympics has spoken out about his use of booze to boost his staff's strength.
0:32 Video: Irish dad uses Guinness to get past exam nerves +100: Beer drinking and Olympic psychological benefits
Irishman Craig Rooney can clearly be seen glugging Guinness whilst training younger staff at next level company Ballycotton Sports & Exercise in Co Mayo.
More than any other Olympic sponsor, Irish
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