Harvard scientist pushes back on NASA chief over mystery space object: 'It's not an asteroid'

The roughly 36-foot-wide object 1998 KY26 has puzzled scientists with its unexplained acceleration that cannot be accounted for by gravity alone. While NASA classifies it as a near-Earth asteroid, Loeb and his colleagues have examined whether it could instead be Phobos 1, a Soviet spacecraft that lost contact while traveling to Mars in 1988.

During an appearance on "Fox & Friends" Thursday, Isaacman stated he had "not seen any evidence to suggest this is...anything other than an asteroid." Loeb pushed back against this assessment during an interview with Fox News Digital the following day.

Non-gravitational acceleration

Loeb emphasized that KY26 "appears to have non-gravitational acceleration, meaning it's being pushed by some force other than gravity, and asteroids are just rocks." Scientists have been exploring various explanations for this unusual behavior.

One theory suggests KY26 could be a "dark comet," a rocky object that behaves like a comet without producing a visible cloud or tail. However, new research from Georgia Tech has questioned whether KY26 could retain enough ice to produce this effect.

Soviet spacecraft theory

Loeb's team found that KY26's trajectory closely resembles that of the failed Soviet Phobos 1 mission. They calculated that sunlight reflecting off the spacecraft could produce a push consistent with the nongravitational acceleration observed in KY26.

Recent observations indicate the object is highly reflective and rotates about once every five minutes. Loeb compared the scientific debate to encountering an unfamiliar animal at a zoo, suggesting experts should consider explanations beyond familiar categories when observations don't fit.

Future verification

Loeb acknowledged his theory remains unproven but predicted that a definitive answer could come in 2031, when the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Hayabusa2 spacecraft is expected to rendezvous with KY26.

The Harvard scientist predicts the encounter could reveal scientists have been examining a piece of Soviet space history rather than an unusual natural object. "We predict that when they land on it, instead of seeing an iceberg, they will find the label 'Made in the USSR,'" Loeb said.

When asked whether the Phobos 1 theory would be completely disproven if Hayabusa2 finds a rock or ice, Loeb didn't hesitate. "Yes," he said. The 2031 encounter is expected to settle the debate once and for all.