So.....if this rock misses Mars, where is it off to next?
“So.....if this rock misses Mars, where is it off to next?”
(whistling past the graveyard)
Asteroid 2007 WD5 was first discovered on Nov. 20, 2007, by the NASA-funded Catalina Sky Survey and put on a “watch list” because its orbit passes near Earth.
Further observations from both the NASA-funded Spacewatch at Kitt Peak, Ariz., and the Magdalena Ridge Observatory in New Mexico gave scientists enough data to determine that the asteroid was not a danger to Earth, but could potentially impact Mars.
This makes it a member of an interesting class of small objects that are both near Earth objects and “Mars crossers.”