99942 Apophis Asteroid to Smash Earth?

What is the chance of a huge asteroid the size of two football fields smashing into Earth in the near future?

Russian scientists recently announced that 99942 Apophis asteroid which is approximately 900 feet long could smash Earth by year 2036. 

NASA, however, disputed the claim and announced that the collision may happen but the chances are too slim and negligible. 

Backgrounder on 99942 Apophis Asteroid

The news about Apophis asteroid hitting Earth was first announced by NASA in 2004.  The agency believed that the asteroid may hit Earth in 2029. 

However, NASA retracted its claim after doing more number crunching.  After a review of the asteroid’s trajectory, the agency announced that the chance of Apophis hitting Earth by 2029 is nearly zero. 

Recently, reports coming out of Russia say 99942 Apophis asteroid will hit Earth by April 13, 2036.  Russian scientists discovered that the Earth’s gravitational keyhole could change the orbit of Apophis as it passes by our planet in 2029.  So when it comes back by 2036, a catastrophic collision may be inevitable. 

The NASA Assessment

According to Donald Yeoman, NASA’s chief of Near-Earth Objects Program Office, the claims of the Russian scientists are technically correct.  Yeoman, however, disputed the inevitability of the collision saying that the chance of 99942 Apophis asteroid hitting Earth is just 1:250,000. 

NASA is also preparing a program to change the orbit of Apophis asteroid.  The Agency could run a spacecraft onto the hurtling asteroid.  This technology was used in 2005 when scientists smashed Deep Impact into the Tempel1 comet.