Mars could be in for an asteroid hit

[Dave Monroe]

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- Mars could be in for an asteroid hit.

If the asteroid strikes Mars, it will probably hit near the equator
close to where the rover Opportunity is exploring.

 A newly discovered hunk of space rock has a 1 in 75 chance of
slamming into the red planet on January 30, scientists said Thursday.

"These odds are extremely unusual. We frequently work with really long
odds when we track ... threatening asteroids," said Steve Chesley, an
astronomer with the Near Earth Object Program at NASA's Jet Propulsion
Laboratory.

The asteroid, known as 2007 WD5, was discovered in late November and
is similar in size to an object that hit remote central Siberia in
1908, unleashing energy equivalent to a 15-megaton nuclear bomb and
wiping out 60 million trees....

http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/space/12/21/mars.asteroid.ap/index.html