Defending Earth: NASA Spacecraft Will Smash Into An Asteroid 11 Million Kms Away

NASA's about to do the unthinkable! The space agency's asteroid-smashing mission called DART is on track to make waves on Tuesday, according to NASA. Asteroids could pose a serious risk to Earth's safety in the future, and while we are in the clear for the near-future, NASA wants to be prepared.

The agency's highly awaited Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission will ram into an asteroid 11 million kilometres away. To be specific, DART will aim for an asteroid moonlet called Dimorphos on September 26.

The DART mission launched on November 23, 2021 atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and is currently almost at its destination - the asteroid Didymos and its moonlet Dimorphos.

NASA

First attempt to change an asteroid's direction

This mission is humanity's first attempt to change the course of an asteroid. Such measures may come in handy in case an asteroid were to come hurtling towards Earth. Based on the size and speed of an asteroid, a planet-wide extinction event could happen (watch Don't Look Up on Netflix if you're wondering what might happen in case this were to happen).

Also read: NASA's Tiny Device On Mars Is Currently Generating As Much Oxygen As A Tree

NASA

Researchers from NASA and John Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (JHUAPL) seem confident that the mission will be successful. The DART spacecraft will impact the 170 metres wide Dimorphos at speeds of 6.6 km/s. Dimorphos orbits the 780 metres wide asteroid Didymos.

Scientists are sure that the impact will be powerful enough to cause a change of orbit trajectory for the pair. "It's quite frankly the first time that we are able to demonstrate that we have not only the knowledge of the hazards posed by these asteroids and comets that are left over from the formation of the solar system, but also have the technology that we could deflect one from a course inbound to impact the Earth. So this demonstration is extremely important to our future," Lindley Johnson, a planetary defence officer at NASA, said.

NASA

Also read: Weird Stuff That Is Going To The Moon Aboard NASA's Artemis I Mission

The impact will occur at 4.44 am IST on Tuesday or 11.14 pm GMT on Monday. This is not a sci-fi fantasy anymore, we're actually about to blast an asteroid in space! Fascinating, right?

Tell us what you think about the DART mission in the comments below. For more in the world of technology and science, keep reading Indiatimes.com.

References

Tingley, B. (2022, September 23). DART asteroid-smashing mission ¡°on track for an impact¡± Monday, NASA says. Space.com. Retrieved September 23, 2022, from https://www.space.com/dart-asteroid-mission-on-track-for-impact