--- title: "Elon Musk: “A Big Rock Will Hit Earth Eventually”" description: "Elon Musk believes that a big rock like the Apophis asteroid, which NASA deemed worrisome, will hit Earth in the future and that the world has no defense." date: "2019-08-19" modified: "2019-09-04" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/elon-musk-asteroid-hit-earth" categories: - "Elon Musk" - "Future Society" - "Science & Energy" - "The Industrialists" tags: - "asteroid" - "elon musk" - "joe rogan" - "the digest" --- # Elon Musk: “A Big Rock Will Hit Earth Eventually” ![]() *\Image: NASA/Victor Tangermann\* After [suggesting]() that we should nuke Mars to terraform it, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk [took to Twitter]() yesterday to warn us all that "a big rock will hit Earth eventually and we currently have no defense." The ominous warning came in reply to podcast personality Joe Rogan, who [shared]() an [article by *The Daily Express*](), a British tabloid newspaper, about asteroid Apophis, warning of an imminent "asteroid shock" — a sensationalist spin of a harmless cosmic event. Apophis is a 370-meter in diameter near-Earth asteroid, first spotted in 2004, that could hit the Earth in 2029 — but only with a probability of [well under three percent](). It is nonetheless [categorized]() as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" by NASA and considered an [unlikely but worrisome space hazard](). NASA had discussed the asteroid at this year's 2019 Planetary Defense Conference back in April, noting that Apophis will "cruise harmlessly by Earth, about 19,000 miles (31,000 kilometers) above the surface," according to a [blog post]() by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). In fact, it'll pass so close, that its gravity could affect Earth. "It is possible that there will be some surface changes, like small avalanches," Davide Farnocchia, an astronomer at JPL's Center for Near Earth Objects Studies, said in the blog post. While the *Express* article mentioned that "NASA is preparing for 'colossal God of Chaos' rock" — a headline that could easily be read as NASA preparing for the worst "Armageddon"-style by unsuspecting tabloid readers, the reality is substantially different. Scientists at JPL had [discussed]() sending a small spacecraft to meet Apophis as it sails by. "The Apophis close approach in 2029 will be an incredible opportunity for science," said Marina Brozovi, a JPL radar scientist, in [a statement]() in April. "We'll observe the asteroid with both optical and radar telescopes. With radar observations, we might be able to see surface details that are only a few meters in size." That doesn't mean Musk is wrong, though. His comments come, for instance, after a "city killer" asteroid of immense proportions whizzed past Earth [almost completely undetected]() by astronomers last month. Still, we're not quite as defenseless as Musk suggested. One of NASA's upcoming missions, for example, is planning to smash a probe into a distant asteroid at 13,500 mph to [deflect it]() away from Earth. The team behind the mission dubbed "Double Asteroid Redirection Test" — the first ever mission to come out of NASA's [Planetary Defense Coordination Office]() — [revealed]() parts of its new spacecraft in July, a column of honeycomb structured aluminum that will later be outfitted with massive solar arrays. The plan is to launch the spacecraft aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket — ironic, considering Musk's stance on the subject — from the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California in 2021. *Editor's note 8/19: An earlier version of this story incorrectly claimed that the asteroid Apophis could come closer to Earth than the International Space Station. It has been updated.* **READ MORE:** [Today, Elon Musk is worried about asteroids]() \[*Fast Company*\] **More on asteroids:** *[“City Killer” Asteroid Whizzes Past Earth Almost Undetected]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()