An asteroid impact 66 million years ago triggered a chain reaction of events that wiped out the dinosaurs and two-thirds of life on Earth. Since the killer asteroid struck Earth, many smaller space rocks and comets have pelted the planet. Thankfully, we are yet to see another large object fly directly towards us – an event which NASA claims happens once “every few million years”. As a result, scientists are certain a space rock will hit Earth sooner or later and preparations need to be made for when it happens.

 

Lembit Öpik, the Chairman of Parliament for the space nation Asgardia, told Express.co.uk protecting Earth from asteroids is one of Asgardia’s key objectives.

Mr Öpik said: “It’s a matter of life and death. The chance of an impact is 100 percent, you just don’t know when.”

The former British politician, who was an MP for Montgomeryshire in Wales between 1998 and 2010, campaigned in Parliament for more awareness of spaceborne threats.

In 1999, he called on the Government to annually invest between £500,000 and £1million on tracking asteroids.

Then in the year 2000, Mr Öpik convinced the Government to initiate the Near-Earth Object Task Group.

The group published a report in September 2000, which called for more surveys of both distant and nearby asteroids – so-called Near-Earth Objects (NEOs).

Even Mr Öpik’s grandfather was an astronomer whose work focused on the many asteroids zipping past Earth.

Now, Mr Öpik works with the world’s first space nation to prepare Earth for what he believes is an unavoidable danger from space.

Mr Öpik said: “This happens very rarely, but when it happens it’s catastrophic and it will wipe out between 70 and 95 percent of all life. That’s what seems to have happened before.

“Asgardia, as one of its key mission objectives, is dedicated to creating a kind of space guard initiative to protect our home planet, as we would call it, from cosmic threats.”

Asgardia, or the Space Kingdom of Asgardia, is the world’s first micronation founded in 2016 with the launch of a satellite into Earth orbit.

The space nation aims to establish a permanent human presence in space by building outposts and conceiving the first off-world child.

Mr Öpik previously told Express.co.uk Asgardia hopes to put humans in space in the next 25 years.

But to achieve these lofty goals, Asgardia’s scientists need to prove spacefaring humans can be kept safe from threats like asteroids.

Asteroids are not the only threat lurking in space, Mr Öpik argued, but they are the most dangerous and easiest to foresee.

Thankfully, leading space agencies like NASA do not expect any major impact in the foreseeable future.

The US space agency said: “Experts estimate that an impact of an object the size of the one that exploded over Chelyabinsk, Russia, in 2013 – approximately 55ft – takes place once or twice a century.

“Impacts of larger objects are expected to be far less frequent – on the scale of centuries to millennia.

“However, given the current incompleteness of the NEO catalogue, an unpredicted impact – such as the Chelyabinsk event – could occur at any time.”

At the start of 2019, NASA said the number of discovered NEOs stood at more than 19,000 and roughly 30 new space rocks are discovered each week.

How often do asteroids hit the Earth?

According to Bruce Betts of The Planetary Society, dangerous asteroids do not hit Earth very often but they do strike.

On average, hundreds of tonnes of space dust and orbital debris safely pelt the Earth’s atmosphere on a daily basis.

The larger the space rock, the less frequently it hits the planet.

An asteroid about 65.6ft (20m) across, strikes the Earth once or twice a century.

Asteroids as big as the Chicxulub dinosaur killer strikes our home planet on the scale of 100 million years.

NASA closely monitoring asteroid size of world’s tallest building hurtling near Earth

NASA is “closely watching” an asteroid as big as Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, dubbed 2000 QW7, which is travelling at a speed of 23,000km/h.

An asteroid the size of the world’s tallest building is being tracked by NASA as it is set to come close to Earth in September. The asteroid, known as 2000 QW7, is travelling at speeds of more than 23,000km/h. A Nine News Sydney host said: “NASA is closely watching a huge asteroid which is set to come close to Earth next month.

“NASA’s 2000 QW7 is the size of the world’s tallest building, Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, and it’s travelling at speeds of more than 23,000 km/h.

“It will miss Earth by a mere 5.4million km.”

2000 QW7 is estimated to be between 290 meters and 650m in diameter.

NASA’s Centre for Near-Earth Object Studies revealed 2000 QW7 is travelling at a speed of about 14,4000 miles per hour and will pass 3.3 million miles from Earth.

NASA said in astronomical terms it is going to be a “close call”.

Astronomers don’t believe asteroid 2000 QW7 poses any danger or is likely to strike the planet but NASA’s Centre for Near-Earth Object Studies will continue tracking it.

There is currently an approximate 3,312,944 mile distance between 2000 QW7 and Earth.

NASA estimated the threat level for 2000 QW7 as moderate, so a hit is still possible but not likely this year.