Asteroid 2022 YS5 to Skim Past Earth on July 17: NASA and ISRO Collaborate to Monitor Close Encounter
Asteroid 2022 YS5 will make a close but safe flyby of Earth on July 17. NASA and ISRO are jointly monitoring the event as part of planetary defense efforts.
NewsSutra
In a major celestial development, NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office (PDCO) has flagged asteroid 2022 YS5 for a close—but non-threatening—flyby of Earth on July 17, 2025. Traveling at a velocity exceeding 28,000 km/h, the asteroid will safely pass at a distance of roughly 1.9 million kilometers, or about five times the Earth-Moon distance. While not a cause for alarm, the event has garnered substantial attention due to its proximity and international coordination efforts—including the active involvement of India’s space agency, ISRO, in tracking the asteroid’s trajectory.
The encounter is another critical test of planetary defense systems globally, highlighting growing international cooperation in space surveillance and near-Earth object (NEO) response strategy.
What Is Asteroid 2022 YS5?
Asteroid 2022 YS5 was first discovered by NASA’s Pan-STARRS survey (Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System) based in Hawaii. Classified as an Apollo-type NEO, it belongs to a category of asteroids whose orbits cross Earth’s orbit but typically remain far enough not to pose an imminent threat.
With an estimated diameter of 120 to 180 meters—roughly equivalent to a football stadium—the asteroid is large enough to warrant scientific monitoring but nowhere near the size required to cause regional or global damage in the unlikely event of impact.
According to the Center for Near Earth Object Studies (CNEOS), 2022 YS5 has made previous passes near Earth, but this is its closest approach in the past 65 years. Future close encounters are projected, but none are predicted to occur within hazardous proximity.
Why the July 17 Flyby Is Significant
While Earth is routinely visited by hundreds of NEOs every year, only a few come within what astronomers call “potentially hazardous distance”—defined as less than 7.5 million kilometers. Asteroid 2022 YS5’s approach on July 17 has been flagged for several reasons:
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Proximity: At 1.9 million kilometers, it enters what scientists consider a “watch zone.”
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Size: Anything over 100 meters in diameter is tracked more rigorously due to its potential impact energy.
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Orbital Dynamics: The asteroid’s high orbital inclination and Earth-crossing path present opportunities for orbital analysis.
This makes 2022 YS5 a perfect case study for both scientific investigation and planetary defense preparedness.
NASA’s Monitoring Protocol
NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office, under the purview of Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), has been spearheading the global surveillance of 2022 YS5 using ground-based radar from Goldstone Solar System Radar in California and optical data from several telescopic arrays.
The agency has also employed orbit prediction models using data refined through the Scout system, which helps assess risks in real-time. Initial tracking since 2022 had already ruled out a collision, and updated simulations confirm that there is no danger to Earth during this or any upcoming passes in the next century.
In a press release, Dr. Kelly Fast, Program Manager at PDCO, stated:
“Asteroid 2022 YS5 is a textbook case for what our monitoring systems are designed to do—detect, analyze, and confirm safety with enough lead time. It's a good example of our growing capability to respond to NEO events.”
ISRO's Participation: A Step Forward in Planetary Defense
India’s Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has ramped up its efforts in recent years to become a significant contributor to planetary defense and space situational awareness (SSA). The Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Center (IN-SPACe) and ISRO’s Multi-Object Tracking Radar (MOTR) in Sriharikota have been providing supplementary data on 2022 YS5 since early July.
According to sources from the U R Rao Satellite Centre, ISRO has been tracking the object using both radar and optical telescopes as part of its upcoming NEO monitoring roadmap, aligned with its planned “Project Netra”—India’s first indigenous SSA initiative.
ISRO Chairperson Dr. S. Somanath commented in a briefing:
“Our collaboration with NASA on tracking asteroid 2022 YS5 is an important milestone. It allows us to validate our radar models and strengthen our NEO tracking systems as we prepare for a future where planetary defense is no longer a theoretical concern.”
ISRO’s involvement is also part of a broader memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed with the United States in 2023, which includes joint exercises on space situational awareness and orbital hazard mitigation.
Global Response and Collaborative Frameworks
The monitoring of asteroid 2022 YS5 is being overseen under the umbrella of the International Asteroid Warning Network (IAWN) and the Space Mission Planning Advisory Group (SMPAG), both coordinated by the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA).
This multi-nation effort underscores the importance of transnational cooperation in space threat assessment, especially in a time when both private and national space activities are surging.
Agencies from Europe, Japan, Australia, and Brazil have all contributed data to the current flyby analysis, creating a real-time, globally integrated threat assessment map—a feat that would have been impossible even a decade ago.
Could 2022 YS5 Hit Earth in the Future?
Astronomers say the risk of impact from 2022 YS5 remains negligible for at least the next 100 years, according to current orbital predictions. However, they warn that small changes in trajectory—caused by gravitational slingshots or even the Yarkovsky Effect (the thermal force caused by solar radiation)—can shift long-term paths.
That is why continual tracking, even post-flyby, is crucial. Tools like NASA’s Sentry Impact Risk Table and ESA’s Asteroid Impact Monitoring (AIM) system are designed to update these probabilities dynamically as more data becomes available.
What Would Happen If an Object Like YS5 Did Hit Earth?
Although not applicable to this flyby, it's worth understanding the hypothetical consequences of an asteroid like 2022 YS5 colliding with Earth.
With a mass estimated in the millions of metric tons, such an asteroid would cause significant regional devastation if it struck land. Depending on the impact velocity and angle, effects could include:
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Shockwaves equivalent to several megatons of TNT
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Massive fires and local extinction-level events
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Disruption to global climate systems if the impact is in oceanic or polar regions
That said, no such outcome is predicted. Instead, scientists view this flyby as a scientific opportunity, similar to past events like the 2004 flyby of asteroid Apophis, which later had its threat designation downgraded.
Public Safety and Scientific Opportunity
NASA and ISRO have both reassured the public that no countermeasures or alerts are necessary, and the flyby presents zero risk. However, public outreach efforts have ramped up to use this moment for educational awareness, especially in schools, colleges, and amateur astronomy clubs.
Several observatories across India—including the Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium in Bengaluru—are hosting livestream events and telescope tracking sessions for students and space enthusiasts.
Meanwhile, data from the flyby will be used to update global asteroid databases, improve prediction algorithms, and validate space surveillance models for future close encounters.
Conclusion: A Model for Global Cooperation in Space
The close approach of asteroid 2022 YS5 on July 17 is not a threat—but a wake-up call. It underscores the value of early detection, transparent communication, and international cooperation in mitigating potential risks from space objects.
With both NASA and ISRO working in tandem, and broader participation from space agencies worldwide, the event marks a milestone in the development of Earth’s planetary defense architecture.
As humanity steps deeper into the space age, our ability to understand and protect ourselves from celestial threats will define how safely we navigate the cosmos.
