Asteroids can be captured into temporary or permanent Earth orbit

the verdict

SUPPORTED

the evidence backs this

Recorded sources

3 sources for · 0 against

Counts group repeated records of the same source within each side. They do not measure evidence strength or source independence.

Is it true that asteroids can be captured into temporary or permanent Earth orbit?

Yes. Asteroids can be temporarily captured by Earth's gravity into geocentric orbits, becoming natural satellites or mini-moons before eventually escaping back into heliocentric space.

Verdict: SUPPORTED · 3 sources for, 0 against · Last checked 4 Aug 2026

The analysis

Papers [1], [2], and [3] provide direct empirical and observational evidence that near-Earth asteroids can be captured into temporary Earth orbits (often referred to as temporarily captured orbiters or mini-moons). The remaining papers are off-topic or tangential.

Evidence for · 3

Designing rendezvous missions with mini-moons using geometric optimal control

2013

Discusses temporarily-captured natural Earth satellites (NES) and their orbital characteristics.

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Chyba, M., Patterson, G., Picot, G., Granvik, M., Jedicke, R., & Vaubaillon, J. (2013). Designing rendezvous missions with mini-moons using geometric optimal control. doi.org. https://doi.org/10.3934/JIMO.2014.10.477

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More for · 2

IMPACT DETECTIONS OF TEMPORARILY CAPTURED NATURAL SATELLITES

2016

Examines temporarily captured orbiters (TCOs) like 2006 RH120 that make geocentric orbits before returning to heliocentric paths.

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Clark, D. L., Spurný, P., Wiegert, P., Brown, P., Borovička, J., Tagliaferri, E., & Shrbený, L. (2016). IMPACT DETECTIONS OF TEMPORARILY CAPTURED NATURAL SATELLITES. doi.org. https://doi.org/10.3847/0004-6256/151/6/135

Mini-moons from horseshoes: A physical characterization of 2022 NX1 with OSIRIS at the 10.4 m Gran Telescopio Canarias

2023

Confirms through observation and simulation that near-Earth asteroids can become temporary geocentric satellites, known as mini-moons.

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Marcos, R., Leon, J., La, C., Marcos, F., Licandro, J., Serra-Ricart, M., & Cabrera-Lavers, A. (2023). Mini-moons from horseshoes: A physical characterization of 2022 NX1 with OSIRIS at the 10.4 m Gran Telescopio Canarias. doi.org. https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202245514

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Receipt History

first checked04 Aug 2026

judged → SUPPORTED · 8204 Aug 2026

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