Yesterday, NASA crashed a spacecraft into an asteroid on objective. The mission was meant to check a way for presumably altering the trail of an asteroid. Figuring out how to do that could possibly be useful sooner or later if an asteroid is heading towards Earth.
NASA’s mission is known as DART, which stands for Double Asteroid Redirection Take a look at. The mission was launched in November of final yr. Since then, it has been touring roughly 6.8 million miles (11 million kilometers) to achieve a pair of asteroids in outer house.
(Supply: YouTube.)
Asteroids
Asteroids are massive rock-like chunks of fabric that by no means fairly fashioned right into a planet. Most of them are discovered within the asteroid belt, between Mars and Jupiter, and observe steady orbits. NASA says that there are over 1,113,500 asteroids that scientists learn about.
“There aren’t any recognized asteroid threats to the Earth” for any time within the close to future, says Nancy Chabot, one of many lead scientists for the DART venture. However NASA desires to be ready.
There aren’t many asteroids as massive because the one which helped wipe out dinosaurs over 65 million years in the past. However even a a lot smaller asteroid may trigger critical harm if it struck a metropolis on Earth. To guard the Earth in such a state of affairs, NASA wished to check a manner of adjusting an asteroid’s path – by smashing one thing into it.
(Supply: NASA /Johns Hopkins APL.)
DART’s goal was an asteroid referred to as Dimorphos. It’s about 175 yards (160 meters) in diameter. Dimorphos circles round a bigger asteroid referred to as Didymos as the 2 journey collectively by house. NASA is making an attempt to see if it could shove Dimorphos nearer to Didymos.
As a result of the asteroids are so distant, the spacecraft had to have the ability to information itself to the goal. DART centered on the bigger asteroid, Didymos, till it obtained shut sufficient to see Dimorphos. Then it centered on Dimorphos, crashing into it at about 14,000 mph (22,500 kph). DART despatched again footage till the second it crashed.
(Supply: YouTube.)
How Will They Know If It Labored?
DART carried a tiny spacecraft referred to as LICIACube with it. LICIACube, which was created by the Italian House Company, was following behind DART.
LICIACube’s process was to file the crash – and what occurs afterward – and ship the data again. That is the primary time a small “dice satellite tv for pc” has been used on this manner. However it’ll take weeks for the photographs from LICIACube to achieve Earth.
NASA scientists count on Dimorphos to maneuver nearer to Didymos. Earlier than DART, it took Dimorphos 11 hours and 55 minutes to orbit the bigger asteroid. After the crash, Dimorphos is predicted to maneuver barely nearer to Didymos, and to orbit a couple of minutes extra rapidly.
(Supply: NASA /Johns Hopkins APL/Steve Gribben.)
Telescopes on Earth, in addition to highly effective telescopes in house, shall be useful in seeing if the orbit truly adjustments. In 2024, the European House Company plans to launch a brand new spacecraft to Dimorphos to assemble extra data.
NASA confirmed the occasion reside over the web. Cheers broke out at NASA as DART smashed into Dimorphos and the photographs from the spacecraft immediately ended. Scientists all over the world are hoping that this primary take a look at of a “planetary protection system” will educate them vital classes that might assist defend the Earth sooner or later.
Did You Know…?
If you need to look at DART’s ultimate seconds earlier than hanging Dimorphos, you’ll be able to see them on this NASA video on YouTube.
😕
This map has not been loaded due to your cookie decisions. To view the content material, you’ll be able to settle for ‘Non-necessary’ cookies.
