NASA issues alert for incoming asteroid flyby
NASA is closely monitoring a car-sized asteroid expected to pass by Earth on March 25, traveling at approximately 12,168 miles per hour.
The asteroid, designated 2026 FM3, measures around 15 feet across and will make its closest approach at a relatively short distance of 148,000 miles, according to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), News.Az reports, citing Newsweek.
2026 FM3 is not the only space rock near Earth this week. NASA is also tracking 2026 FX3, a plane-sized asteroid roughly 68 feet in diameter that will pass by today, as well as 2026 FT2, a house-sized asteroid about 49 feet across.
RECOMMENDED STORIES
Two additional asteroids—bus-sized 2026 FQ2 and plane-sized 2026 FG3—are projected to approach at distances of approximately 1,500,000 and 1,930,000 miles from Earth, respectively.
NASA notes that small asteroids up to 30 feet wide impact Earth roughly once every ten years, but typically do not pose a threat to life. Such collisions usually produce a bright fireball and a strong sonic boom, occasionally breaking windows, but rarely causing significant damage.
The potential danger depends on an asteroid’s size. In February 2025, asteroid 2024 YR4, estimated between 174 and 220 feet, was calculated to have a 3.1% chance of striking Earth in 2032—a probability described as “the highest impact likelihood NASA has ever recorded for an object of this size or larger.”
By Nijat Babayev
Similar news
