Asteroid 2024 YR4 heading toward the Moon with Earth in the background, showing the possible impact event in 2032

Asteroid 2024 YRâ‚„ Could Hit the Moon in 2032 and Send Dangerous Debris Toward Earth

August 25, 2025 Science Buzzer 1

An asteroid named 2024 YRâ‚„, about 60 meters wide (roughly the size of a tall office building), might hit the Moon on December 22, 2032. Scientists estimate there is a 4 percent chance that it could strike the lunar surface.

If that happens, the collision would release energy equal to 6.5 megatons of TNT and create a crater about one kilometer across. Events of this scale are not common. A crater that large only forms on the Moon about once every 5,000 years.