A large asteroid has been predicted to strike the earth. However, after new calculations, the odds have increased of our planet being missed entirely, and instead it is expected to impact the moon.

Based on NASA’s Centre for Near Earth Object Studies, its reviewed trajectory of the asteroid 2024 YR4 revealed that its odds of striking the planet in 2032 have doubled, hitting 2.3%. David Rankin, an astronomer at the University of Arizona, has since found that the chances are slim.

The calculations show that there is around a 0.3% chance of the 90-meter-wide asteroid crashing into the Moon. Due to the moon not having an atmosphere in the way that the Earth does, it is unable to slow down asteroids in the same way.

This means that a potential impact could create a crater hundreds of meters wide, he predicts, which then ejects debris into space. If the 2024 YRS were to impact the Moon, scientists suspect that because of its lack of atmosphere, debris from the crash could rain back onto the planet's neighbour, Earth.

Uncertainty still remains surrounding the trajectory of the asteroid since its first sighting on 27 December last year.Dr. Rankin told New Scientist that despite the extremities of the situation, they “highly doubt it would cause any major threat.”

NASA, however, is continuing to study the mysterious giant rock and expects to revise the predictions as they learn more. The space agency states, “There have been several objects in the past that have risen on the risk list and eventually dropped off as more data have come in. New observations may result in reassignment of this asteroid to 0 as more data come in.”

Other space agencies across the world are coming up with ideas to counter the threat posed by hazardous asteroids like the 2024 YR4. One of these methods includes slamming a spacecraft onto them or attempting to throw them off course with nuclear blasts.

A country choosing to join the initiative recently was China, announcing vacancies for a wide range of roles for a “planetary defence post.”. Responsible for the country’s aerospace engineering research is China’s State Administration of Science, Technology, and Industry for National Defence, and the organisation is currently undergoing recruitment.

The SCMP reported that it is looking for graduates to take part in asteroid monitoring studies. Li Mingtao, a researcher working on asteroid defence at China’s National Space Centre, said: “We must cultivate a team of talent dedicated to asteroid defence and contribute Chinese wisdom and Chinese strength to protecting the safety of the Earth.”

A conceptual plan was announced last year, where China suggested a mission to observe and strike an asteroid with a spacecraft would help to alter its path around the year 2020. In 2028, the 2024 YR4 asteroid is predicted to safely pass Earth again, and researchers hope to gain further insights that will help determine the outcomes and further probability of the effects this will have on both Earth and the Moon.