NASA alert: Airplane-sized asteroid to safely pass Earth on Aug 5, 2025

NASA has confirmed that a sizeable near-Earth object—an asteroid roughly 170 feet (51 metres) wide—will make a close flyby of Earth on August 5, 2025, but poses no risk of collision.

Based on multiple alerts, space experts are monitoring this asteroid, designated 2025 OT7 (also referred to as 2024 PK4), through NASA's Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS).

While the asteroid is large enough to categorize under NASA’s 'potentially hazardous' classification, it does not meet the criteria for a real threat. That classification applies only when such objects come within 7.4 million kms of Earth and exceed 85 metres in diameter—criteria OT7 narrowly misses.

On August 5, at the point of closest approach, the asteroid will be approximately 4.5 to 11 lunar distances away—around 4.3 million kilometres—well outside any danger zone.

Despite its benign trajectory, this encounter is significant for planetary science and defense efforts. Each flyby provides scientists with valuable data on the asteroid’s composition, orbit stability, and potential for future hazard mitigation training.

India’s space agency, ISRO, is reportedly enhancing its own planetary defense roadmap in preparation for larger asteroids like 2029’s Apophis flyby—and collaboration with agencies such as NASA, ESA, and JAXA is in discussion.

NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office (PDCO) continues monitoring such asteroids through systems like Sentry, which logs predicted close approaches years in advance to ensure timely tracking and response if needed.