5 min read<\/p>\n
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"Artist's](\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/1-asteroid-illo-width-1320.jpg?w=1320\")
<\/a><\/figure>\nTypically, asteroids \u2014 like the one depicted in this artist\u2019s concept \u2014 originate from the main asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, but a small population of near-Earth objects may also come from the Moon\u2019s surface after being ejected into space by an impact.<\/div>\nNASA\/JPL-Caltech<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nLee esta historia en espa\u00f1ol<\/em>\u00a0aqu\u00ed<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\nThe near-Earth object was likely ejected into space after an impact thousands of years ago. Now it could contribute new insights to asteroid and lunar science.<\/em><\/p>\nThe small near-Earth object 2024 PT5 captured the world\u2019s attention last year after a NASA-funded telescope discovered it lingering close to, but never orbiting, our planet for several months. The asteroid, which is about 33 feet (10 meters) wide, does not pose a hazard to Earth, but its orbit around the Sun closely matches that of our planet, hinting that it may have originated nearby.<\/p>\n
As described in a study published<\/a> Jan. 14 in the Astrophysical Journal Letters, researchers have collected further evidence of 2024 PT5 being of local origin: It appears to be composed of rock broken off from the Moon\u2019s surface and ejected into space after a large impact.<\/p>\n\u201cWe had a general idea that this asteroid may have come from the Moon, but the smoking gun was when we found out that it was rich in silicate minerals \u2014 not the kind that are seen on asteroids but those that have been found in lunar rock samples,\u201d said Teddy Kareta, an astronomer at Lowell Observatory in Arizona, who led the research. \u201cIt looks like it hasn\u2019t been in space for very long, maybe just a few thousand years or so, as there\u2019s a lack of space weathering that would have caused its spectrum to redden.\u201d<\/p>\n
The asteroid was first detected<\/a> on Aug. 7, 2024, by the NASA-funded Sutherland, South Africa, telescope of the University of Hawai\u2019i\u2019s Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS). Kareta\u2019s team then used observations from the Lowell Discovery Telescope and the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF<\/a>) at the Mauna Kea Observatory in Hawai\u2019i to show that the spectrum of reflected sunlight from the small object\u2019s surface didn\u2019t match that of any known asteroid type; instead, the reflected light more closely matched rock from the Moon.<\/p>\nNot (Old) Rocket Science<\/strong><\/h3>\nA second clue came from observing how the object moves. Along with asteroids, Space Age debris, such as old rockets from historic launches<\/a>, can also be found in Earth-like orbits.<\/p>\nThe difference in their orbits has to do with how each type responds to solar radiation pressure, which comes from the momentum of photons \u2014 quantum particles of light from the Sun \u2014 exerting a tiny force when they hit a solid object in space. This momentum exchange from many photons over time can push an object around ever so slightly, speeding it up or slowing it down. While a human-made object, like a hollow rocket booster, will move like an empty tin can in the wind, a natural object, such as an asteroid, will be much less affected.<\/p>\n
\n\n\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/e1-2024-pt5-geo-release.png?w=1621\")
<\/a><\/figure>\nResearchers studying asteroid 2024 PT5 have plotted its looping motion on two graphs. To a trained eye, they show that the object never gets captured by Earth\u2019s gravity but, instead, lingers nearby before continuing its orbit around the Sun. <\/div>\nNASA\/JPL-Caltech<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nTo rule out 2024 PT5 being space junk, scientists at NASA\u2019s Center for Near Earth Object Studies (CNEOS<\/a>), which is managed by the agency\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, analyzed its motion. Their precise calculations of the object\u2019s motion under the force of gravity ultimately enabled them to search for additional motion caused by solar radiation pressure. In this case, the effects were found to be too small for the object to be artificial, proving 2024 PT5 is most likely of natural origin.<\/p>\n\u201cSpace debris and space rocks move slightly differently in space,\u201d said Oscar Fuentes-Mu\u00f1oz, a study coauthor and NASA postdoctoral fellow at JPL working with the CNEOS team. \u201cHuman-made debris is usually relatively light and gets pushed around by the pressure of sunlight. That 2024 PT5 doesn\u2019t move this way indicates it is much denser than space debris.\u201d<\/p>\n
Asteroid Lunar Studies<\/strong><\/h3>\nThe discovery of 2024 PT5 doubles the number of known asteroids thought to originate from the Moon. Asteroid 469219 Kamo\u2019oalewa<\/a> was found in 2016 with an Earth-like orbit around the Sun, indicating that it may also have been ejected from the lunar surface after a large impact. As telescopes become more sensitive to smaller asteroids, more potential Moon boulders will be discovered, creating an exciting opportunity not only for scientists studying a rare population of asteroids, but also for scientists studying the Moon.<\/p>\nIf a lunar asteroid can be directly linked to a specific impact crater on the Moon, studying it could lend insights into cratering processes on the pockmarked lunar surface. Also, material from deep below the lunar surface \u2014 in the form of asteroids passing close to Earth \u2014 may be accessible to future scientists to study.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a story about the Moon as told by asteroid scientists,\u201d said Kareta. \u201cIt\u2019s a rare situation where we\u2019ve gone out to study an asteroid but then strayed into new territory in terms of the questions we can ask of 2024 PT5.\u201d<\/p>\n
The ATLAS, IRTF, and CNEOS projects are funded by NASA\u2019s planetary defense program, which is managed by the Planetary Defense Coordination Office at NASA Headquarters in Washington.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For more information about asteroids and comets, visit:<\/p>\n
https:\/\/www.jpl.nasa.gov\/topics\/asteroids\/<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n
![\"Artist's](\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/1-asteroid-illo-width-1320.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure>Lee esta historia en espa\u00f1ol<\/em>\u00a0aqu\u00ed<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n The near-Earth object was likely ejected into space after an impact thousands of years ago. Now it could contribute new insights to asteroid and lunar science.<\/em><\/p>\n The small near-Earth object 2024 PT5 captured the world\u2019s attention last year after a NASA-funded telescope discovered it lingering close to, but never orbiting, our planet for several months. The asteroid, which is about 33 feet (10 meters) wide, does not pose a hazard to Earth, but its orbit around the Sun closely matches that of our planet, hinting that it may have originated nearby.<\/p>\n As described in a study published<\/a> Jan. 14 in the Astrophysical Journal Letters, researchers have collected further evidence of 2024 PT5 being of local origin: It appears to be composed of rock broken off from the Moon\u2019s surface and ejected into space after a large impact.<\/p>\n \u201cWe had a general idea that this asteroid may have come from the Moon, but the smoking gun was when we found out that it was rich in silicate minerals \u2014 not the kind that are seen on asteroids but those that have been found in lunar rock samples,\u201d said Teddy Kareta, an astronomer at Lowell Observatory in Arizona, who led the research. \u201cIt looks like it hasn\u2019t been in space for very long, maybe just a few thousand years or so, as there\u2019s a lack of space weathering that would have caused its spectrum to redden.\u201d<\/p>\n The asteroid was first detected<\/a> on Aug. 7, 2024, by the NASA-funded Sutherland, South Africa, telescope of the University of Hawai\u2019i\u2019s Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS). Kareta\u2019s team then used observations from the Lowell Discovery Telescope and the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF<\/a>) at the Mauna Kea Observatory in Hawai\u2019i to show that the spectrum of reflected sunlight from the small object\u2019s surface didn\u2019t match that of any known asteroid type; instead, the reflected light more closely matched rock from the Moon.<\/p>\n A second clue came from observing how the object moves. Along with asteroids, Space Age debris, such as old rockets from historic launches<\/a>, can also be found in Earth-like orbits.<\/p>\n The difference in their orbits has to do with how each type responds to solar radiation pressure, which comes from the momentum of photons \u2014 quantum particles of light from the Sun \u2014 exerting a tiny force when they hit a solid object in space. This momentum exchange from many photons over time can push an object around ever so slightly, speeding it up or slowing it down. While a human-made object, like a hollow rocket booster, will move like an empty tin can in the wind, a natural object, such as an asteroid, will be much less affected.<\/p>\n To rule out 2024 PT5 being space junk, scientists at NASA\u2019s Center for Near Earth Object Studies (CNEOS<\/a>), which is managed by the agency\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, analyzed its motion. Their precise calculations of the object\u2019s motion under the force of gravity ultimately enabled them to search for additional motion caused by solar radiation pressure. In this case, the effects were found to be too small for the object to be artificial, proving 2024 PT5 is most likely of natural origin.<\/p>\n \u201cSpace debris and space rocks move slightly differently in space,\u201d said Oscar Fuentes-Mu\u00f1oz, a study coauthor and NASA postdoctoral fellow at JPL working with the CNEOS team. \u201cHuman-made debris is usually relatively light and gets pushed around by the pressure of sunlight. That 2024 PT5 doesn\u2019t move this way indicates it is much denser than space debris.\u201d<\/p>\n The discovery of 2024 PT5 doubles the number of known asteroids thought to originate from the Moon. Asteroid 469219 Kamo\u2019oalewa<\/a> was found in 2016 with an Earth-like orbit around the Sun, indicating that it may also have been ejected from the lunar surface after a large impact. As telescopes become more sensitive to smaller asteroids, more potential Moon boulders will be discovered, creating an exciting opportunity not only for scientists studying a rare population of asteroids, but also for scientists studying the Moon.<\/p>\n If a lunar asteroid can be directly linked to a specific impact crater on the Moon, studying it could lend insights into cratering processes on the pockmarked lunar surface. Also, material from deep below the lunar surface \u2014 in the form of asteroids passing close to Earth \u2014 may be accessible to future scientists to study.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a story about the Moon as told by asteroid scientists,\u201d said Kareta. \u201cIt\u2019s a rare situation where we\u2019ve gone out to study an asteroid but then strayed into new territory in terms of the questions we can ask of 2024 PT5.\u201d<\/p>\n The ATLAS, IRTF, and CNEOS projects are funded by NASA\u2019s planetary defense program, which is managed by the Planetary Defense Coordination Office at NASA Headquarters in Washington.\u00a0<\/p>\n For more information about asteroids and comets, visit:<\/p>\n https:\/\/www.jpl.nasa.gov\/topics\/asteroids\/<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nNot (Old) Rocket Science<\/strong><\/h3>\n
<\/a><\/figure>Asteroid Lunar Studies<\/strong><\/h3>\n