NASA warns of giant asteroid hurtling towards Earth at 65,215 kmph

The space agency NASA has issued a warning with respect to a massive asteroid named 2024 MT1, approaching Earth at a speed of over 65,000 Kmph.

According to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in California's Pasadena, 2024 MT1 which is 60 feet in diameter and is as huge as Statue of Liberty is likely to be the closest to our planet on July 8.

The asteroid was first detected by the US space agency's Near-Earth Object Observations Program which tracks and characterizes asteroids and comets that are targeted towards Earth. For monitoring these objects, the program employs a network of ground telescopes and radar systems.

JPL has an Asteroid Watch dashboard which closely monitor's the asteroid's trajectory and provides real-time data on its position, speed and distance from Earth.

The asteroids of the size such as 2024 MT1 are potentially dangerous because it can cause tsunamis, fires, massive explosions etc.

NASA's Planetary Defense Coordination Office (PDCO) actively works towards solutions to navigate through such threats.

PDCO, in collaboration with international space agencies and research organizations work on technologies to deflect asteroids and prevent any devastating impact.

Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission, is one of the significant technologies currently being explored to test the possibility of deflecting an asteroid by crashing a spacecraft into it.

Though DART is not directly connected to 2024 MT1, it is considered a significant step towards the efforts made for planetary defense.

Despite concerns of the asteroid's speed and size, NASA has assured that there was no threat of its collision to Earth.