2011 MD

Key Facts

• Categorized as a Amor-class Asteroid
• Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
• Will pass within 15,899,341 km of Earth in 2024
• Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
• Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
• See orbit simulation

Overview

2011 MD is a very small asteroid whose orbit approaches the orbit of Earth but does not cross it. NASA JPL has classified 2011 MD as a "Near Earth Asteroid" due to its orbit's proximity to Earth, but it is not considered potentially hazardous because computer simulations have not indicated any imminent likelihood of future collision.

2011 MD orbits the sun every 396 days (1.08 years), coming as close as 1.02 AU and reaching as far as 1.10 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2011 MD is probably between 0.004 to 0.020 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

The rotation of 2011 MD has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 0.19 hours.

Close Approaches

2011 MD's orbit is 0.00 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that its orbit is very close to Earth's orbit.

2011 MD has 8 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

NASA Sentry has assessed impact risk for 29 very close approach scenarios. Here are the top scenarios ordered by probability of impact:

Images and Observations

2011 MD's orbit is determined by observations dating back to June 21, 2011. It was last officially observed on Feb. 12, 2014. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 528 observations used to determine its orbit.

Accessibility and Exploration

2011 MD can be reached with a journey of 370 days. This trajectory would require a delta-v of 5.131 km/s. To put this into perspective, the delta-v to launch a rocket to Low-Earth Orbit is 9.7 km/s. There are 935,669 potential trajectories and launch windows to this asteroid.

See more at the NHATS Mission Trajectories table for 2011 MD.

Similar Objects

These objects have orbits that share similar characteristics to the orbit of 2011 MD:

• 4034 Vishnu (1986 PA)
• 4769 Castalia (1989 PB)
• 68950 (2002 QF15)

References

• JPL Small Body Database
• Mission Design
• Sky Finder Chart

Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 2011 MD is indicated by a ◯ pink circle. Note that the object may not be in your current field of view. Use the controls below to adjust position, location, and time.