In 2004, astronomers predicted a newly discovered asteroid, called MN4, was on a near collision course with Earth. Further studies showed an MN4-Earth catastrophe to be extemely remote.
Still, the scare motivated the European Space Agency to launch the Don Quijote asteroid-deflecting project. The agency wants to try to deflect the orbit of an asteroid (either 2002 AT4 or 10302 1989 ML), with the target to be chosen in 2007.
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