JPL Confirms Close Passage of 15-Foot Asteroid 2026 FM3

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), which manages the agency's planetary defense operations, confirmed on March 24, 2026, the impending close passage of Near-Earth Object (NEO) 2026 FM3. The object, estimated to measure approximately 15 feet in diameter, is scheduled to reach its closest point to Earth on March 25, 2026, with a potential periapsis around 02:08 UTC. Data from JPL's Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) projects the approach distance could vary between 148,000 miles and as near as 85,000 miles, a range significantly closer than the Moon's average distance of about 239,000 miles from Earth.

This event highlights the continuous, high-cadence monitoring conducted by NASA's Near-Earth Object Observations Program, which employs ground-based telescopes and advanced orbital computation to characterize celestial visitors. On the same day as the confirmation, March 24, 2026, JPL was also tracking other NEOs, specifically 2026 FX3 and 2026 FT2, for their respective close approaches. In a related event, the larger, roughly 169-foot-wide asteroid 2026 FB executed a distant flyby on March 20, 2026, passing at approximately 683,000 miles from the planet.

The iterative nature of orbital mechanics and planetary defense was demonstrated by the resolution of concerns surrounding asteroid 2024 YR4 in February 2026. Observations from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), utilizing its Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) and Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI), provided essential infrared data to refine the object's trajectory. This refinement process, which precisely measured the object's size at about 60 meters, eliminated any impact probability for a 2032 Earth strike, which had previously peaked at 3.1% in early 2025. Further analysis ruled out a lunar impact for December 22, 2032, projecting the object will pass the Moon at a distance of 13,200 miles (21,200 km).

CNEOS at JPL plays a vital role in this self-correcting data cycle by computing high-precision orbits from data submitted to the Minor Planet Center, ensuring accurate risk assessment for the Planetary Defense Coordination Office. While objects like 2026 FM3 fall below the threshold for classification as Potentially Hazardous Asteroids (PHAs)—objects larger than 140 meters approaching within 4.6 million miles—the continuous work maintains a comprehensive catalog. The overall statistical framework suggests that while smaller objects frequently pass near Earth, the threat from objects exceeding 160 feet in diameter occurs much less frequently, approximately once per millennium.