Astronomers in NASA’s Near Earth Object (NEO) monitoring program are tracking the trajectory of an asteroid estimated to be 50 meter (160 feet) wide that is expected to cross Mars’ orbital path early next year. Observations provided by the astronomers and analyzed by NASA’s NEO Office at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., indicate the object is likely to pass within 50,000 kilometers (30,000 miles) of Mars at 5:55 a.m. EST (10:55 UT) on Jan. 30, 2008. There is also a 1 in 75 probability that the asteroid will slam into the planet at that time.
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