Bullseye: Monday’s landing of a NASA spaceship by an American astronaut was a success. asteroid7 million miles away to deflect its orbit. This historic test of humanity’s ability to stop a celestial object destroying life on Earth was a success.
The Double Asteroid Redirection TestDART) impactor hit its target, the space rock Dimorphos, at 7:14 pm Eastern Time (2314 GMT), 10 months after Blast offCalifornia, on its pioneering mission.
Lori Glaze, NASA’s director of planetary science, stated, “We’re entering on a new period, an age in which we potentially can have the capability to defend ourselves against something like dangerous hazardous asteroid impacts.”
Below is the last image that was captured by DART’s camera.
Dimorphos – a 530-foot (160-meter) asteroid roughly comparable in size to an Egyptian pyramid – orbits a half-mile-long big brother called Didymos. The’moonlet,’ a tiny speck of light that appeared around an hour prior to the collision was something never seen before.
DART raced at around 14,500 miles (23.500 kilometers) an hour towards the egg-shaped surface.
NASA engineers and scientists erupted in applause when the screen frozen on a final image, which indicated that the signal had been lost and that impact had occurred.
The pair of asteroids are not a threat to our planet, as they circle the Sun every two years.
NASA has however deemed this important enough to continue the experiment before any actual need is found.
NASA is hoping to strike Dimorphos directly, reducing the orbit time by 10 minutes.
Ground telescopes – which can’t see the asteroid system directly but can detect a shift in patterns of light coming from it – should provide a definitive orbital period in the coming days weeks.
The proof-of-concept has made a reality of what has before only been attempted in science fiction – notably in films such as Armageddon andDo not look up.
This was DART’s final image.
Astronomy community buzzing
Minutes after impact, a toaster-sized satellite called LICIACube, which already separated from DART a few weeks ago, was expected to make a close pass of the site to capture images of the collision and the ejecta – the pulverized rock thrown off by the strike.
LICIACube’s photos will be returned in the coming weeks and months.
Also watching the event: an array of telescopes, both on Earth and in space – including the recently operational James Webb – which might be able to see a brightening cloud of dust.
The global astronomy community has been abuzz by the participation of more than 30 ground telescopes including radio and radar.
Christina Thomas, DART mission planetary observer and Christina Thomas said that there are many of them.
The final picture of the system will be revealed by a European Space Agency mission named Hera four years later. Hera will survey Dimorphos and measure its surface. This is something scientists are only able to guess at.
Earthlings can get better sleep
Only a few billions of comets and asteroids in our solar system pose a threat to the planet. They are unlikely to be in the next 100 years.
It will come if you wait.
We know that from the geological record – for example, the six-mile wide Chicxulub asteroid struck Earth 66 million years ago, plunging the world into a long winter that led to the mass extinction of the dinosaursAlong with 75 percent of all other species.
A Dimorphos-sized asteroids would have a smaller impact than any other nuclear bombs in history.
How much momentum DART imparts on Dimorphos will depend on whether the asteroid is solid rock, or more like a ‘rubbish pile’ of boulders bound by mutual gravity – a property that’s not yet known.
NASA would have another chance to launch a spacecraft if it failed, and the spaceship would still be able to carry enough fuel for another flight in two years.
However, its success marks the first step towards creating a world that is capable of protecting itself from any future existential threats.
Elena Adams, DART mission system engineer and Elena Adams, DART mission operations engineer said that Earthlings can be more peaceful.
