Earth’s means to resist an asteroid strike or comet hazard was put to the take a look at for the primary time as a NASA spacecraft collided with a non-hazardous asteroid within the ‘world’s first planetary protection take a look at.’
“That is solely a take a look at – of planetary protection. Immediately, our DART Mission is about to crash right into a non-hazardous asteroid to check deflection know-how, ought to we ever uncover a menace,” NASA wrote on Twitter.
Watch the video:
🛰️ That is solely a take a look at – of planetary protection. Immediately, our #DARTMission is about to crash right into a non-hazardous asteroid to check deflection know-how, ought to we ever uncover a menace.
Impression: 7:14pm ET (23:14 UTC). Watch our LIVE broadcast at 6pm ET: https://t.co/VAfF5ZXcYB pic.twitter.com/czGqnYJIGJ
— NASA (@NASA) September 26, 2022
NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Take a look at (DART), a spacecraft the dimensions of a merchandising machine, slammed head-on with the soccer stadium-sized asteroid Dimorphos at a pace of 14,000 miles per hour to change its orbit perpetually.
“Watch from DART MIssion’s DRACO Digicam, because the merchandising machine-sized spacecraft efficiently collides with asteroid Dimorphos, which is the dimensions of a soccer stadium and poses no menace to Earth,” NASA wrote.
Watch the video under:
IMPACT SUCCESS! Watch from #DARTMIssion’s DRACO Digicam, because the merchandising machine-sized spacecraft efficiently collides with asteroid Dimorphos, which is the dimensions of a soccer stadium and poses no menace to Earth. pic.twitter.com/7bXipPkjWD
— NASA (@NASA) September 26, 2022
NBC News reported:
The $325 million mission was designed to see whether or not “nudging” an asteroid can alter its trajectory, offering scientists with a invaluable real-world take a look at of planetary protection applied sciences.
A digital camera aboard DART captured reside views of Dimorphos’ getting larger because the probe neared the asteroid. Within the minutes earlier than impression, the probe beamed again jaw-dropping particulars of the area rock’s craggy, uneven floor.
“Oh my goodness,” mentioned Elena Adams, a DART mission techniques engineer on the Johns Hopkins College Utilized Physics Laboratory.
NASA Administrator Invoice Nelson congratulated the DART workforce, saying efforts by the worldwide group of scientists will assist humanity defend Earth from incoming asteroids.
“We’re displaying that planetary protection is a worldwide endeavor and it is rather attainable to avoid wasting our planet,” Nelson mentioned.
It might take as much as a number of weeks for NASA to verify any modifications within the area rock’s trajectory. The aim is to shorten the asteroid’s practically 12-hour orbit by a number of minutes.
In a real-life planetary protection state of affairs, even a small change in an asteroid’s trajectory — offered it’s nonetheless far sufficient — may avert a doomsday impression.
