‘2020 XL5’, the Second Earth Trojan, Could Offer a Future Space Destination for Humanity

Scientists have confirmed that Earth is now accompanied by a “Trojan asteroid” known as 2020 XL5, marking only the second such discovery. Researchers describe it as a particularly promising specimen, more significant than the first-ever Earth Trojan asteroid, 2010 TK7.

Trojan asteroids share the same orbit as their associated planet, remaining in stable positions either ahead of or behind the planet. These objects are commonly found around Jupiter and are named after characters from the Trojan War. However, until now, only one Earth Trojan had been definitively discovered.

The new object, identified on December 12, 2020, was initially suspected to be an Earth Trojan, but verifying its orbit proved difficult due to limited observations. Now, after extensive analysis combining archived data and new observations, scientists have confirmed that 2020 XL5 is indeed an Earth Trojan.

While its exact origin remains uncertain, it is believed that the asteroid could have originated from the asteroid belt and been displaced into its current orbit due to gravitational interactions with Jupiter. Its orbit is stable, and researchers predict that it will remain in its current position for approximately 4,000 years.

2020 XL5 is a larger and more accessible object compared to its predecessor, 2010 TK7, and its characteristics suggest it could become a valuable target for future space missions. In the distant future, researchers speculate that this asteroid might even be used for establishing human bases or installing scientific instruments, given its stable orbit and the relatively low fuel requirements for visiting it.

The findings, which are published in the study “Orbital stability analysis and photometric characterization of the second Earth Trojan asteroid 2020 XL5” in Nature Communications, open new possibilities for human exploration beyond Earth.